Friday, December 04, 2009

8 Things You Need to Know About Collaboration

IMHO:

  1.  Collaboration is over used and mis-used and is becoming a buzzword for business people and technologists alike
  2. Collaboration isn’t the same as cooperation or coordination - each have different processes, practices and depth of engagement
  3. Collaboration is a human process – throwing technology at people won’t magically/automatically create collaboration
  4. Meaningful, productive collaboration won’t happen without mutuality of desired outcomes, shared values of transparency and information sharing, compassion, compromise
  5. Collaboration implies that "the needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few or the needs of the one" and sometimes people aren’t really interested in living by that principle
  6. Collaboration isn’t always the best process
  7. Collaboration is not equal to Web 2.0
  8. Collaboration can be a source of real value in the face of complex environments and situations where no single person has the right answer

19 comments:

ThoughtElf said...

This list is so deceptively simple. And so decidedly right.

Thinking I will print and post this in multiple strategic places on Monday morning. ;>

Beverly Graham said...

An interesting list, that still leaves me with the question "what is collaboration?" Mostly, you've said what it is not, which is helpful, but not as illuminating as I hoped. Can you give some examples of what is good collaboration?

Chris Collison said...

Thanks Dale - a thought-provoking list!

Anonymous said...

Bev.. I posted a quick definition about collaboration while back here: http://reflectionskmoi.blogspot.com/2008/02/mysterious-art-of-collaboration.html

As for examples, given an understanding of the definition / nature of collaboration I'd be surprised if you can't point to at least a few examples in your own experiences. But for a few notables, a while back I had come across a number of examples on a blog post by Dave Pollard over at How to Save the World. http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2004/11/22.html

Joseph Kraus said...

Hi Dale. Hope you don't mind, I just blogged about your blog post over at http://collaborativelibrarianship.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/8-things-you-need-to-know/. This is the news section of the journal, Collaborative Librarianship.

Anonymous said...

Joe.. "do I mind?" Certainly Not! I'm always thrilled when my miniscule musings are referenced elsewhere.. many thanks!

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jenjarratt said...

When everything comes together beautifully without you doing all the work and having all the ideas, then you know that is collaboration!

Can be a rare experience but not an impossible one.

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Ramkumar Yaragarla said...

Hi, your 4th point was good. Collaboration won't happen unless there is a shared understanding. Mutual trust, respect, and cognitive abilities and shared stories are some the motivations for collaboration. Nice points.