The Culture of Collaboration
The in-box culture is dead," insists Rosen, so information workers need to learn how to come together on projects spontaneously in real time, instead of handling assignments alone and passing them down the line. He sees electronic tools like instant messaging and video conferencing as indispensable for collaboration, particularly 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, Boeing, Procter & Gamble, Dreamworks 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 and his advice can seem simplistic. "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.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.