The Culture of Collaboration: Maximizing Time, Talent and Tools to Create Value in the Global Economy

The in-box culture is dead," insists Rosen, so office workers need to learn how to come together on projects, instead of handling assignments alone and passing them down the line. He sees electronic tools like e-mail, instant messaging and video conferencing as indispensable for collaboration, even for people who work thousands of miles apart. But, he cautions, such tools will only be effective for companies that actively promote informal, nonhierarchical relationships to spark innovation among their employees—similar to the way smokers from different departments can bond out on the sidewalk. To support his argument, he makes much use of anecdotal evidence from companies like Toyota and the Mayo Clinic. Unfortunately, once readers clear a path through buzzwords like "optimum collaboration environments" and "global collaborative enterprise," Rosen's insights are pretty obvious. "Communication is a key element in collaboration" goes one such observation, "therefore an organization must communicate well to collaborate effectively." Little here will surprise experienced managers. (Jan. 1)