Collective Next

Let's Do Lunch

Geoff Amidei — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:33:22 +0000

TED2012

"A man may be a pessimistic determinist before lunch and an optimistic believer in the will's freedom after it."
Aldous Huxley

While our colleagues are in Palm Springs next week enjoying the happenings at TEDActive and, more importantly, helping to support the TEDActive Projects, another CN cohort will be at TED 2012 Full Spectrum in Long Beach, CA.

The Grandest of Collaborations at your fingertips...

John Colaruotolo — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:29:31 +0000

Next week, CN will be joining several hundred participants at TED Active in Palm Springs, CA. We’re teaming up with the sponsors of Active to facilitate six projects that each focus on a big question that affects all of us in one way or another. Several of my CN friends and I will be the resident storytellers for each of the projects. What does this mean? During the week we’ll be listening, connecting participants to one another, and gathering participants’ big ideas as they relate to each of the projects.

I Think Your Idea Stinks

Geoff Amidei — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:00:29 +0000

Over the last few weeks, I’ve detected a minor backlash against collaboration in the media, a rising tide of criticism of the “trend” toward working and learning in groups. The sense I’m getting may all stem from the recent NY Times article by Susan Cain, The Rise of the New Group Think. In her article, she decries the evils of the New Groupthink, which “has overtaken our workplaces, our schools and our religious institutions.”

Collaboration and Music

John Colaruotolo — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:01:27 +0000

(First in a multi-part series on collaboration and music.)

Broaden and Build Your Performance

Mason Smith Psy.D. — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:54:41 +0000

You are a business professional. You know your stuff. Before tackling any major business task, you familiarize yourself with best practices, design a plan, organize the appropriate people and watch a clip from your favorite comedy. Like many people, you may find the last step in this list out of place. Yet, it may be the most important step you can take to maximize your effectiveness.

Inspiration Comes in Many Forms

Erin King — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:20:08 +0000

Inspiration comes in many forms.

Sometimes you get in a rut. You feel uninspired or stuck or like maybe you’ve “lost it.” Maybe you’re a little rusty and don’t trust your skills anymore.

Do You Speak Infographics?

Annie White — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:51:25 +0000

Infographics, data visualizations, visual knowledge…whatever you call it, it’s everywhere, and most of the time, it’s pretty interesting.

What You Can Learn From A Woolly Mammoth

Marc D'Amore — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:03:03 +0000

At eight years old I was presented with a book that would dramatically impact my life several times over. In my adolescent hands it was huge and heavy; its hard covers seemed to have existed forever. Most avid readers will fondly recount canonic classics or nostalgic favorites revisited again and again over the course of one’s life, each time extracting new meaning, relevance and insight. For me, it is not Shakespeare’s Drama, The Old Testament or 1984, but David Macauly’s The Way Things Work.

Tools and Expectations

Tricia Walker — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:02:48 +0000

It occurred to me while I was preparing to carve our Halloween pumpkin last week: when did the expectation for an elaborate and detailed pumpkin character get so…high? When did the era of the jolly old Jack-O-Lantern end and the super snazzy CGI effects worthy pumpkin begin? I think the game changed somewhere around the time stores started carrying the “Pumpkin Masters” carving sets. If you’re not familiar, let me explain.

Reflection

Kathy Clemons — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:02:32 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, at the Fred Forum, I heard Col. Bernie Banks talk about the importance of reflection in West Point’s education model. They provide three kinds of learning to their cadets: new knowledge, experience and reflection. Their cadets get a combination of theory, application, and then the time to reflect and integrate what they’ve learned.

Doodling is Not a Crime!

Kate Dwyer — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 10:52:18 +0000

I doodle. A lot.

In fact, I actually get paid to doodle. Creating fresh graphic representations of information is a huge part of my work life, and doodling is part of my early design process.

Doodling is one of the ways I brainstorm. I use it to communicate concepts and draft thinking to colleagues and clients. In fact, doodling has become my preferred form of expression, communication, and note taking. It’s an integral part of my design process both at work and at home. These days, I think in pictures.

Finding Time to Think

John Colaruotolo — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:32:05 +0000

I like driving. Not short trips to the store, but longer trips across town. Who doesn’t like a good road trip? When my wife and I get in the car to go on a trip, we both offer to drive first, and the first driver inevitably gets the wheel for the bulk of the trip.

Getting the Most Out of Virtual Collaboration

DRutley — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 14:45:35 +0000

You wanted to meeting to be live, but it just can’t happen that way. Now this critical collaboration between business partners must be brokered over a conference call. What can you do to ensure that this is the success that it has to be?

Node Model

Have Fun With the Problem

Geoff Amidei — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:04:17 +0000

As with most practitioners of the art and science of applied collaboration, we owe philosophical, intellectual, and methodological homage to many sources. One such source is MG Taylor Corporation, and one of their specific contributions to the canon came in the early 1980’s when they introduced a list of 14 axioms they used in their practice.

Design Thinking Books

Mike LaRhette — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:23:08 +0000

Trolling a couple of good discussion boards on the discipline of Design Thinking, inevitably someone will ask the group - "know any good books on DT?". The ensuing thread usually makes reference to some timeless classics as well as a good book that may have just been released. No self-promoting authors promoting their works, just recommendations from discussion group participants. The Design Thinking LinkedIn group, as well as the Design Management Institute (DMI) provide a rich archive of just these kinds of threads. Over the past year or so I have been trying to bu

Catalyzing Innovation - Post 4 in a Series

Matt Saiia — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 10:32:42 +0000

This is the third post in our series on Catalyzing Innovation. I'll be exploring the final three contributing factors here. Keep an eye out for my follow-up post on how Collective Next uses Applied Collaboration to bring these factors to life.

Space to Fail

Catalyzing Innovation - Post 3 in a Series

Matt Saiia — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:57:23 +0000

This is the third post in our series on Catalyzing Innovation. I discussed the first threee contributing factors last week, and will explore the final three later this week.

Rock Star Advocacy

Catalyzing Innovation - Post 2 in a Series

Matt Saiia — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:47:29 +0000

This is the second post in our series on Catalyzing Innovation. I'll discuss the first three contributing factors here, and the remaining six in future posts.

Adjacency & Commingling

Catalyzing Innovation - A Blog Series

Matt Saiia — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:27:47 +0000

Organizations seeking to foster innovation must resist the temptation to make it solely the domain of specialized programs or tools, and instead focus on creating the conditions that allow innovation to occur and thrive.

Before embarking on an investigation of these conditions, it is helpful to start with a definition.

TEDxBoston 2011 Graphic Facilitation

Matt Noble — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:13:24 +0000

Visual representations of TED talks

07/19/2011 - 11:15am

For the third straight year, Collective Next co-hosted TEDxBoston to help promote "ideas worth spreading." We provided graphic facilitation to create memorable visual representations of some incredible TED talks. That work is below; click on the thumbnail images to see larger versions. For videos of all of the day's speakers, click here.