My Collaboration Practices

Recently Brett published a post called “My Personal Collaboration Rules”.  I loved the blog, and it made me think about my own collabortion practices and I did a little comparing in the process.

1. Capture Once– I loved that Brett put that first on his rules.  I have said many a time that the technology will not work for you if it doesn’t replace something or make your life easier.  Who wants to touch things twice?  Waste of time it is then!

2.  Touch it once- Brett called it Process Once– my mantra is “Touch it Once”  It does not matter to me if you are talking an email or cleaning a closet–touch it once. 

3. Resist printing– I must admit printing can be my downfall.  As much as I love the options technology affords me, I must confess that I still love paper at times for reading and for taking notes.  I am trying to clean up my act in this arena however; I am printing less and recycling more but I have a ways to go!

4. Don’t use email to collaborate, use it to communicate.  I really do love this one.  Email is great and I am not a proponent (like some) to do away with it.  BUT let’s use it correctly.  I do fall into the trap at times of collaborating with it; but am a believer in not using it this way.  Use IM,  wikis, blogs, shared workspaces, etc.

5. Links yes, attachements no.  Yes, yes, and yes!

6. Store in a searchable repository.  Sharepoint is a great solution for this along with EMC products.

7. Be a sharer not a hoarder- I think this is easier for some than others. BUT  hoarding information is getting you NO WHERE.  Be the go to person and seek out the go to people.  Stop feeling threatened by giving it away!  Give it away and see it explode!  Ideas blossom once they are out there.  You can’t possible know it all so why not give someone an opportunity to expand on your knowledge and you on theirs!

8. Use real time communication- web conferences, im, etc are great for getting stuff done fast!

Now my added practices:

9. Listen – even when you think you have it 100% correct, listen.  You will probably find out that you really weren’t 100% on and the other person has something worthwhile to contribute.  Afterall collaboration is about the meeting of the minds and ideas right?

10. GO for consensus— again the win/win and consensus mentality makes up Collaboration doesn’t it?  Open Source is a great example.  No one person has all the answers and by working on a collaborative decision by consensus you have the best of lots of worlds and no  one is a loser!

11. Offer up assistance and help.  You know what your niche is–offer it up.  When the tide is turned, someone will offer back to you their expertise.

12. Be a door not a wall.  What I mean by this is be a pathway to information rather than the person that is the block (we can’t, we won’t, etc.).  Keep your door open and let others in.
What about you?  How do you collaborate and keep the CQ going?

Happy Collaborating!

Working with wikis

James Matheson, from Custom Ware  shared great info on wikis and working with them.  Some highlights:

What’s a wiki?  An editable web page BUT more social, people have more control over the content than a traditional web site and it is EASY!

What’s the difference in using one on the internet vs. an enterprise wiki? Permissions, notifications, search, versioning, and more!

Use Cases for Enterprise Wikis-intranet replacement, project management, meeting agendas/notes/minutes, social interaction and knowledge base.

Adoption– Put some structure to it so people can see the overall organization of it, keep it open and allow editing, seach must be excellent!

See this full article that is posted on Michael Sampson’s Blog.

Work yourself out of a job

Many of us have had the pleasure of working in an environment that has the “work yourself out of a job” mantra.  Years ago I had that experience and so have others I know.  We did not have blogs or wikis or even the internet then (I am dating myself). BUT what we did have was a spirit of collaboration and sharing.  Fear had not set in and we did not feel like the act of hoarding information made our job secured.  We did not want to hear that we could never leave because no one else would know what to do.  We wanted to prep the next person in behind us so that we could KEEP MOVING FORWARD also.  Hoarding information is a sure fire way to keep yourself stagnit in the workplace.  Collaborating, sharing, training is the way to be known as the “expert”, the ”go to person”,  the “team player” and the person most likely to keep moving on up!  Today we have blogs, wikis, and all kinds of tools that help us to collaborate.  BUT we first have to embrace the feeling of collaboration, the appreciation for what it can to for us and for others before we can ever tackle the tools that are out there.  What comes first the chicken or the egg?  What comes first a spirit of wanting to collaborate or the tool?  I say the spirit of collaboration makes the tool work; it is not the other way around.  Happy Collaborating!