Collaboration is great. But it’s not a Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, if-you-build-it-they-will-come Field of Dreams scenario. Alas, if all it took was plowing under a corn field and putting down some chalk stripes, I might be out of a job. And out of corn flakes.

We talk a lot about technology and process, but sometimes omit the human aspect. All the technology in the world won’t do much without people using it — unless you’re watching the Terminator machines attempt their takeover. And then there’s always HAL 9000. But those guys are a lot more interested in domination than collaboration anyway.

An organization’s culture is a critical component to successful collaboration. Make all the technology announcements and managerial pronouncements you want – you need an environment that supports collaboration. Read More »

Tags: business collaboration, Cisco Culture, Cisco Jabber, Cisco Quad, collaboration, corporate culture, leadership, people-centric, The Collaboration Imperative

Although Cisco identifies me with a five-digit employee number, an eight-character username, and a rather generic HR-devised job title shared by 467 other people, I really prefer to be acknowledged as a human rather than as a database entry.

True, my badge is oh-so-personalized with my name and photo, but I apparently looked alarmingly like I could be Harry Potter’s sister when the photo was taken more than eleven years ago. (Or so says a co-worker. I think it was the rather round eyeglass frames…) All that badge tells you is my name – and possibly that I might be good at wizardy stuff.

The concept of people-centric collaboration and corporate cultures is definitely an area of focus for me. I’ve worked in technology companies for more years than I have fingers (ok, and toes) and although my employers have appreciated my individual skills, they haven’t always given me the opportunity to be a person or encouraged collaboration. Read More »

Tags: business collaboration, collaboration, collaboration tools, people-centric