To help us understand what business executives think about ‘the cloud’ and the impact of cloud collaboration to their businesses, we asked Forbes Insights to conduct research.  In response, Forbes surveyed over 500 senior executives from global companies with sales ranging from $250 million to over $20 billion, and interviewed 15 executives.  The study examined the ways business executives increasingly look at cloud collaboration as a way to increase productivity, accelerate business results, and enhance innovation and collaboration across borders and functions. We weren’t surprised by the positive response to cloud, but some new and very interesting findings opened our eyes.

The survey results show Read More »

Tags: cloud, cloud collaboration, collaboration, Forbes Insights, research

This is my third blog in a multi-part series.  In my first blog, I introduced insights from Cisco’s Collaboration Work Practice Study and how people value collaboration in the work environment.  In my second blog, I discussed the importance of building trust-based relationships and networks to make collaboration work for you.  In today’s blog, I share how you can turn these human interactions into business results. 

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Engage.  We use the word engage every day. It’s rich with meaning and covers a wide spectrum of relationships. We are engaged with our families, colleagues, and customers; engaged with an idea, a process, or an initiative.  And when engaged, people are passionate and committed.

At its core, collaboration is people interacting with people. In the global Cisco Collaboration Work Practice Study, employees told us that successful collaboration depends on encouraging natural human interaction, enabling participation and engagement, and fostering a collaborative culture.

“You really need to focus on the people aspect first. Get individuals to feel engaged and continue to be engaged. I think too many times we rely on the technology.” – Study Participant

In my previous blog, I discussed the importance of not losing sight of the “human element.”  Taking the time to build relationships leads to trust, which is fundamental for collaboration. To turn human interactions between collaborators into concrete results, companies must Read More »

Tags: Cisco Collaboration Work Practice Study, Cisco TelePresence, collaboration, culture, cwps, daniel pink, instant messaging, technology

In my last blog,  A Perfect Collaboration According To The “Esquire Guy”,  I talked about the importance of who we collaborate with and how we collaborate with them.  Collaboration is leveraging sources of expertise to help in a decision making process. In some cases, you’re going to be in need of expertise that will come from a knowledge base or identified people.  In other cases, you’re going to be defined as the expert and your opinion will be counted on during the collaborative process.  Either way, you’re going to need to persuade the people you’re collaborating with.

If you’re heading up or part of a collaborative effort and you require expertise, you’ll need to persuade those experts to give up some of their time and put forth effort to support you in your endeavors.

On the other hand, if you’ve been identified as somebody with expertise there’s a good chance others in the collaborative group will have differing opinions and you’ll need to persuade them toward the validity of your advice.

In this short video “Secrets From the Science of Persuasion” by Robert Cialdini and Steve Martin, six universal principles or shortcuts are discussed.  Let’s take a look at these six principles and Read More »

Tags: authority, collaboration, consensus, consistency, liking, Morten Hansen, Robert Cialdini, scarcity, Steve Martin, The Science of Persuasion

This is my second blog in a multi-part series.  In my first blog, I introduced insights from Cisco’s Collaboration Work Practice Study and how people value collaboration in the work environment.  In today’s blog, I discuss how building relationships helps foster collaboration.

At its very core, collaboration is about people. This isn’t a new concept. Humankind has been coming together for centuries to collaboratively solve problems, and in that respect, today is no different. What has changed are the ways in which people collaborate.

One of the things we discovered through the Cisco Collaborative Work Practice Study is that people desire relationships and strong partnerships with the people with whom they work. Building relationships and networks that lead to trust is a fundamental element of successful collaboration.  Nearly every participant in the study Read More »

Tags: Cisco Collaborative Work Practice Study, collaboration, leadership, organizational culture, research

Collaboration is a verb, an action, it is something that we do.  People come together and collaborate to reach a common goal.  Often, people need to collaborate to determine what that goal is, then collaborate more to determine how best to reach that goal.  It is through effective communications that people collaborate. However, there’s more then just communications to collaboration.  In the following article the “Esquire Guy” attempts to answer the question  Read More »

Tags: Cisco TelePresence, collaboration, Esquire, TelePresence