Umar Ruhi Apr 22, 2009

gone are the days when firms had to choose one market winner over a set of market qualifiers. In this hyper-competitive environment where competitive advantage is really short lived, Innovation and Operational Excellence need to be pursued hand-in-hand, and effective collaboration is certainly a way to achieve synergies between the two.

Ademola Apr 23, 2009

Yet another fine prediction.

You wrote “...We take the view that our ideas get stronger when they’re shared…” I agree absolutely. But a note of caution: you must share your ideas with the right people and at the right time, else you risk the idea being killed or worse, sold to the competition. This is what is prevalent nowadays in my part of the world!

You also said that “...The quality and speed of decision-making improves dramatically when people with diverse view points and expertise come together rapidly with shared goals…” I agree also. But in every group of imperfect humans - that we all are - there is always a ‘Judas’ who’d want to stop the wheel of progress.

Please I’m not trying to be a pessimist here, just stating things as they are in my part of the world.

Abhijeet Rane Apr 23, 2009

I would say that collaboration has to include customers as well. Current management structures enforce an “us v/s them” attitude. Innovative collaboration particularly for product development and GTM efforts can produce spectacular results. Secondly the we need to think about “groups” differently. Groups are largely created to include functional expertise. While that is important, it is essential to bring groups together with similar “Values” to create vale based communities rather than groups. This increases the motivational aspect of a group.

Padmasree Warrior Apr 24, 2009

Ademola, thank you for raising a very valid point.  The reality is that not everyone brings contributions and value to the table in every collaborative effort. Part of what is needed is human judgment in understanding what kind of expertise and behavioral skills you need to make a project successful. 

Technology can also play a key role. The network can provide valuable intelligence and context to a collaborative experience, identifying in real-time who you are as a team member, where you are, what device you are using, whether or not you’re available—and importantly, what your credentials are and how much access you should be given to potentially sensitive information.

Padmasree Warrior Apr 24, 2009

Abhijeet, I agree 100% with your view that “collaboration has to include customers as well.”  Customers are our lifeblood.  They are depending on us more than ever to not just sell them things, but to partner with them during the downturn and help them prepare for the upturn.  By getting closer to customers, driving loyalty, and working hard to understand and meet their needs, it will not only have a lasting impact on our relationships with them, but will also enable us to outpace the competition.

Arvind Jul 29, 2009

I think, Innovation and Operational Excellence are not exactly on the two ends of a spectrum as it is made out to be here in this note.