What Empowerment? Enterprise 2.0 Meets Taylorism!

Updated on 25 December 2010 by Lokesh Datta

One buzzword of Enterprise 2.0 is EMPOWERMENT. The reasoning goes that empowerment leads to ownership, motivation, creativity, learning & growth, and superior performance, and so on (insert other organization development buzzwords here!). Proponents of the Enterprise 2.0 movement tell us what we should do and why, vis-à-vis empowerment. But, when it comes to the “how” in the real-world, the guidance is a bit sketchy. Here is what we face. We still use methods to manage collaborative efforts that go back to the command & control mindset of Taylorism, with task orientation and assignments. Sometimes, these tasks can be down to hourly or daily levels. Sophisticated tools exist and are in use today that allow for near real-time update and monitoring of progress.

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Comments on the State of Collaboration

Updated on 25 December 2010 by Lokesh Datta

Here we list the comments we received on the State of Collaboration from our survey respondents. We undertook this study on the State of Collaboration to understand and assess current practices in collaboration and future outlook on collaboration. Over 450 respondents participated in the survey conducted by All Collaboration in January and February 2010.

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Collaboration Is More than Team Building and Management

Updated on 24 December 2010 by Lokesh Datta

The Harvard and MIT Models focus on building and managing teams for collaboration. Their recommendations are indeed valuable and should not be overlooked. However, these recommendations are not sufficient for effective collaboration. Effective collaboration requires a holistic approach, from clearly defined objective to eventual deliverables. Effective collaboration teams needs a comprehensive framework – such as the 4 Ps Model of All Collaboration - within which to operate and succeed.

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The ALL ONE (TAO) of Collaboration

Updated on 26 November 2010 by Lokesh Datta

Updated on 24 December 2010 by Lokesh Datta

Achieving collaboration is synchronization or struggle – and everything in between – between the ALL (the collective, or the organization, or the enabler) and the ONE (the individual, or the enabled). This synchronization or struggle stems from the organization collaboration culture which may be weak or strong, in which the individual performs with personal motivation for collaboration that itself may be weak or strong. Collaboration nirvana happens when the ALL and the ONE - the enabler and the enabled - are aligned strongly on collaboration efforts.

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Collaboration Is About People, Not Technology

Updated on 24 December 2010 by Lokesh Datta

We all know this! Yet, technology & tools take up a huge bit of attention, perhaps because of cash investments in the infrastructure, challenges of technology adoption within the organization, and the reliability, stability, usability, scalability and obsolescence of technology. No doubt, technology is a critical enabler that is opening new frontiers for collaboration. Return on investment in collaborative infrastructure is however generated by people. Discussions on collaboration tend to lack a focus on how to make people want to harness this potential.

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