Collaboration is the participation of independent actors in mutual interactions to deliver a specific result, either chosen or not. The so-called collaboration is the result of the interactions that occur, but collaboration is not the purpose.
"In this on-going collaboration debate, too many people view collaboration as a solution to a problem. It is not. Collaboration is the behaviour that emerges in contexts that invite for collaboration."
In this complex world we live in, most decisions require the involvement of multiple individuals. However, we must be aware of the fact that decisions are never made by a group, but always by individuals.
"Like most things in life, collaboration is a simple thing. However, we humans have tendency not to think too much about simple things and then, they seem to become complex, since they rarely work out as planned. This paper is an exercise in simple thinking about simple things so that we might understand what makes them really work."
Collaboration within the enterprise is difficult because most of the defence mechanisms that exist in normal social contexts cannot be deployed within the enterprise.
While contracting external services, such as consulting advice, we largely underestimate to what extent our own attitude and behaviour will determine the quality of the service delivered. You get what you are.
Technological solutions often only address the symptoms of a problem. Clearly understanding the root causes of the problem and identifying the correct remedies for removing these causes are threfore the mandatory, preliminary steps for choosing the right solution.
For Enterprise 2.0, the main challenge is getting the workforce to adopt the new tools, business practices, and philosophies. But is it only a challenge or just an impossible dream?
With Enterprise 2.0, we are trying to solve some of the problems of today's business organisations. However, we must not forget that our business environment is rapidly evolving and therefore, we might be solving the problems of the past instead of those of the future.
Case studies show us an example. It is up to us to judge upon the relevancy of the example for our own context. However, with Social Business this is becoming a lot harder.
The potential of Enterprise 2.0 is real, but it has to be looked for in the spaces where it really can excel. One of these spaces is business-to-business interoperability.
"In the context of social business, too much of the thinking is focused on creating homogeneity, a level playing field for all participants. Instead, it should embrace diversity and complexity."
"Especially we, people with an IT-background, live too much with the illusion that we can capture our reality in bits. Unfortunately, what we are capturing is only a poor representation of a far deeper and far more complex reality."
Not large corporations, but networks of small companies and individuals will be the future drivers for innovation and prosperity. A policy paper of The Lisbon Council.