JUNE 6, 2008

The Era Of Collaboration

All around me, I see a new era emerging - an era of collaboration. I believe we are turning the corner on an intense period of competition, where the philosophy of “win at all costs” is making way for “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Let me cite some examples.

Just recently, instead of focusing on the fight over nightly news ratings, the three network anchors announced that they were working together to raise money for cancer research. Barack Obama, the new Democratic presidential nominee, includes promised collaboration with Republicans as a key element of his “change” message. And Microsoft may partner with Yahoo in the latter’s search advertising business in place of its failed pursuit of a hostile takeover.

I think this opens up tremendous possibilities for innovation in our work, home, and entertainment.

For instance, we are all looking for flexibility in our work schedule. As a result, some of us have become telecommuters. Others are opting to become independent entrepreneurs or consultants. The problem is, when we are sitting at home alone in our pajamas, we miss the communal spirit of the office environment and the spark of ideas that comes from group collaboration. Hence, coworking sites are popping up where workers can keep their independence and still mingle with others to get the best of both worlds.

Consider this from felicityatcubes from Cubes and Crayons on the coworking blog site:

We have freelance workers in all walks of life from medical translators to biotech researchers to recruiters to professors. It had been a pleasant surprise to find that the common thread comes from the atmosphere we have created more than their careers.

I have also seen the new collaboration between the online video and the print worlds. Entertainment mogul Michael Eisner, seeking a way to engage the internet generation, has teamed with novelist Robin Cook (who was also looking to reach younger readers) to produce a series of 50 web videos - 2 minutes each to be broadcast once a day - as a prequel to an actual book. In a recent interview on NPR’s “All Things Considered”, Robin Cook put it this way:

The trouble is now, there’s so many other things trying to get people’s attention; in particular the younger people. And rather than try to fight it, you really have to kind of use it.

The Culinary Institute of America is collaborating with Harvard Medical School to train physicians how to cook healthy foods so they in turn can teach their patients. The Pittsburgh Pirates are working with the Natural Resources Defense Council to make their ballpark more sustainable and educate their fans about environmentalism. The list goes on and on. What examples do you know of? Please share them with me because I would love to track this trend of breaking down the traditional barriers between organizations and creating real opportunities for working together to benefit us all.