The Collaboration Equation: Strong Professionals Strong Teams Strong Delivery

Individuals work in teams to create value. This is the Collaboration Equation.

Professionals act with confidence.

The Problem: By their very design, the organizations we work for destroy confidence. They run on systems and processes that starve professionals of information, direction, psychological safety, and purpose, causing even the most talented individuals to question themselves and their decisions. They drift and become alienated, inevitably turning to structures that force competent and thoughtful people to wait for direction which never comes.

Whether virtually or in real life, we isolate workers in cubicles, teams into silos, and decisions into oblivion.

This way of working...is not working.

The Solution: The Collaboration Equation draws from a lifetime of building collaborative systems, helping individuals be professionals, teams take pride in their work, and companies be resilient. This dynamic guide to working together shares insightful case studies, practical coaching, and helps readers build a real culture, design real processes, and to create real collaborative systems that people enjoy working in.

You will be able to build visual systems where people can see their work.

You will be able to create cultures with a "Right Environment" so they can mind their system.

And you will create an organization where your individuals truly work in teams to create value.

Your professionals, your company, and you will act with confidence.

Individuals in teams create value.

Every successful team I have ever seen operated as a team. Every successful team I have ever seen had individual professionals behaving professionally. Every successful team I have ever seen knew what success looked like. They made their quest for success visual, they talked about it regularly, their opinions were respected, and their actions were appreciated.

Practical collaborative work creates its own rewards, its own psychological safety, its own agency, and its own quality control. Intentional collaboration creates a right environment where all professionals can operate to their highest potential. Professional collaboration abhors defects, hidden issues, and poor communication.

In business, we have a choice; we can make things better or we can languish is costly mediocrity. Sometimes the paths to better look blocked by immovable objects, but there are no immovable objects in the universe. Everything has a lever, everything has a button. Collaboration finds the irresistible force.

The fact is most businesses today are in the business of making just enough money to sustain their internal waste and maybe a little bit more. They make terrible decisions, build structures that invite bickering and impedance, and bring in new professionals with great promises that have poorly attempted delivery.

Most businesses, but not all.