2 Practice makes perfect, and it is essential that a broadly representative group of organizational members be engaged in contingency planning well ahead of the moment when action is required. Need The most important precondition for successful collaboration is the existence of a common, strongly felt need . That need can be as simple as survival, but it must be strong, since collaborative work takes time and energy, of the kind that will be sustained not merely by ideas but by desires. In the wild, animals sense that collaboration increases their chances of survival. In the lion kingdom, male lions that work together have, on average, bigger prides of lionesses, more cubs, and better overall chances of survival.
Zebras are herd animals because working together confuses their predators.
Members of Y2K contingency planning groups must believe that their efforts are critical to the success of the organization. Working together can increase the quality of our lives and, indeed, our chances of survival as professionals. We don't like to work together unless there is some real payback for investing the energy required to collaborate. Meeting a need provides this incentive. If there isn't a payoff for everyone, collaboration won't happen.