Freed gives a simple definition of collaboration: “Two or more people working together towards shared goals.” He then goes on to discuss what does and does not equal collaboration.

A big group of people using social software together doesn’t translate directly into collaboration. It may be conversation; it may be cooperation; it may be knowledge sharing; it may improve employee engagement; but it is not collaboration.

Next, collaboration is about people working together and completing shared processes. This is where technology fits in, but not all of these processes are technological.

Finally… purpose. This is where a lot of the misunderstanding around collaboration stems. If people are working together but have no shared goals, they are “cooperating,” not “collaborating.” Cooperation is usually much more lightweight than collaboration and often has less focused goals.

Later in the article he speaks to all of the main elements in social business software and what they are and are not. I will use his distinctions to analyse what is and is not working with my clients. By identifying the tools and their uses so clearly we can identify what change is needed, in terms of team, process, or purpose.

Now I’m a very auditory person, so, while I tried to add my comments to the conversation, I could not listen and post at the same time. After a couple of remarks and retweets I gave up and just listened to his presentation.

What I caught was fascinating and brand new information for me. So much so that I re-watched the video again today then downloaded a product called Gephi and worked through some tutorials. Wu used a tool called NodeXL but I have a Mac and couldn’t run it.

My aforementioned auditory propensity means that I don’t instantly grasp meaning from visual representation, but it’s useful to stretch that part of my brain and I can sometimes get new insights. I also have to remember that 65 percent of the population learns visually and I want to communicate effectively with them.

Thinking it through with Lisa Sieverts in person and on separate continents is a joy as always. This is what work should feel like.

Looking forward to the pitch next week. Think good thoughts.

I get unreasonably excited about organizing principles. I have a strong innate sense of organization, but I’m not particularly skilled at explaining it to others. These authors are. The book is simple and attractive and USEFUL. I particularly like the Concept Map and Checklist, suitable for printing and keeping handy

While the article focuses on the benefits for large organizations, it explains the principles well, and these can be adapted for smaller companies who want the same advantages.

The authors give an important caveat– Implementing social media is after all not half as easy as installing the software, even if it is as familiar as Facebook. Support from the top, a proper fit with a company’s culture, integration with workflow and processes, and a perfect match with goals, are just some of the challenges.

I recommend this article for as an explanation of Enterprise 2.0/Social Business.

McAfee suggests 3 selling points if an executive is not already intrigued:

1) “If only HP knew what HP knows we’d be 3x more productive.” 

We need a way to capture knowledge that isn’t expensive and wasteful.

2) Weak Ties

Now we have tools for “building, maintaining, and exploiting our weak ties network”– those relationships beyond your close professional colleagues.

3) Demographic Changes

The workplace is changing. People entering the workforce have different expectations and ways of working. Old constraints and limitations aren’t acceptable.

Strict controls on information flow are becoming obsolete. McAfee explains, “We get out of the business of defining who is entitled to generate information, who’s entitled to share it with whom, who is entitled to talk on different subjects. When you get out of that business, you allow a huge amount of spontaneous activity, spontaneous collaboration, spontaneous interaction emerge. And then you can harvest for business purposes the good stuff that emerges.”

But what about the fears? McAfee asks senior leaders to be very specific about what they’re afraid will happen if information is not controlled. He has been actively collecting horror stories since he first coined the term Enterprise 2.0 and says he’s found very few.

In the end he reminds us to keep going slow. “After I got excited about it, I have this natural tendency to think that everybody else is going to be equally excited about it, and that’s just not the case. One of the things I’ve learned to do in the past six years is to just keep going slow, to re-explain the reasons to do this, to re-explain what’s going on, and to not to get frustrated because everyone doesn’t find it as cool as I do.”

I do, Mr. McAfee.

And thank you Mr. Kiron for this great article.

Christensen is a great storyteller and gives wonderful insights on disruptive innovation in  a number of businesses– where it comes from, how to think about it.

He also offers a new way to approach product marketing and design– beyond thinking about the customer’s need. What is the job he is trying to get done? If you understand that you have more information about the characteristics he values and what you could improve or enhance that will be meaningful and relevant.

The theme of the event was Growth Through Collaboration and I saw a lot of partnering going on, particularly between business, government, and education. The keynote speaker, Lynn Tilton of Patriarch Partners, is a billionaire venture capitalist who has been very successful rescuing and resuscitating manufacturing plants in beleaguered areas like Detroit and NH’s industrial north. Her message is that in order to survive and compete manufacturers must innovate.

I see a real opportunity for small and medium-sized firms to take advantage of social business to enhance the collaboration and spur the needed innovation. I am eager to be a resource to bring these tools and practices to the area.

I just watched Rachel Happe’s keynote from the E2 Conference in Santa Clara. I love hearing her speak and think her ideas are hugely important to the Social Business conversation.

One of her slides really got me sitting up and paying attention. She gave articulate explanation of the value of building relationships and the fact that soft skills give hard returns.

Cost Savings from:

• Loyalty – save on new customer acquisition
• Forgiveness – possible PR crisis averted
• Time – “To make a quality product I need more time.” “I trust you, I will wait.”
• Peer Support – e.g. external support communities
• Issue Reporting – customers tell you what they think because they want you to be better.

Revenue from:

• Preference – you are the vendor of choice
• Patience – to wait for the right product, e.g. Apple
• Advocacy
• Competitive lockout

Rachel presents with a perfect blend of theory and practicality. I wish I could have been there in person to hear the entire Community track. Kudos to the E2 Conference organizers for having her (and more female keynote speakers).