Collaboration And The Company

Last Updated on 03/01/2010

As is often the case the biggest impediments to progress and productivity stem from within one’s own company. A recent account highlighted such a situation. Lacking a proper collaboration tool that enhances decision-making, coordination, collaboration and remote brainstorming a sales team sought the launch of an appropriate tool within the department.

The group was looking to expand beyond e-mail and conference calling to something less regimented and more open with more control back into the hands of the relevant users. This team wanted to spread knowledge.

• The response from IT: the installation of such a tool requires CEO approval.
• The rationale presented: all non-routine expenditures and time spent by IT on new projects needs C-level approval.
• The no-win situation: The chances of anyone sticking their neck out to submit the idea or anticipating personal interest from the company president were minimal. Despite many options, such as a Wiki or a forum, being freely available and costing the company next to nothing in purchase price or installation the project was DOA.

With the executive rarely taking the lead on the usage of technology and not being directly involved in departmental interests the said sales team had to stick with and make do with what was already in place. It was a case of an unwilling corporate culture mired in inertia and micro-management.

Companies that unleash the creative juices and allow bottom-up movement are the ones, which will prosper. Old school is old and this is not school anymore, folks.

Sales, marketing, project management, product management IT and even the executive would benefit from technologies such as a forum, Wiki, Sharepoint/IBM Connections/similar, blogs, etc. technology. Collaboration and knowledge sharing are the business of any company and enabling siloization of information is out. Executives should awaken the energy in their employees and welcome (and in fact lead in usage of) real-time business tools and productivity ideas. The fastest way to encourage employees is to not install unnecessary barriers in the first place. It is, by definition, the executives’ job. Employees who are not thus empowered may abandon their interest and ideas or endanger the companies’ proprietary information by going the external route i.e. start using Yahoo or Google Groups. This is not an ideal situation.
Time to encourage innovation. Collaboration and discipline are not opposites.

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