Swarms on primetime TV

Many company executives are now questionning the value of 'traditional' forms of teambuilding such as executive retreats or staff games (e.g. Executive team building: stop wasting their time). Recently I ran across a New York technnology company GoCrossOffice pioneering a more novel approach....

I just received a Christmas Card from the Monitor 360 group which identified 14 "Consequential Ideas for 2009". The ability to collaborate effectively in large groups is fundamental to (at least) 3 of them: Resilient Communities, Guerilla Journalism and Crowdsourcing.

Listen to Ken Thompson and Lisa Kimball answer questions on how biological thinking can be used to make teams, networks, communities and groups more effective on a live call hosted by The Plexus Institute.

According to Marcus Buckingham in his book The one thing you need to know mediocre leaders think of each of their team members as draughts pieces (interchangeable) but good leaders think of them as chess pieces (unique)...

Social Edge, the online community for social entrepreneurs, has penned a nice article "Your Micromovement" based on Seth Godin's book Tribes which suggests 5 useful steps for starting your own movement.

Michel Bauwens founder of the Foundation for Peer-to-Peer Alternatives has just selected Bioteams as the P2P Foundation Book of the Week.

BBC News reports on work by a team of Swedish researchers from the Karolinska Institute and Stockholm University which shows that "inconsiderate bosses not only make work stressful, they may also increase the risk of heart disease for their employees."

I explained previously how to spot if a team or community or network was a bioteam - a team with a life of its own, where well-established models of team simply do not work. Here is a simple 10 question Group Bioscore Calculator - the higher the "bioscore" the more the group need bioteams!

I would just like to thank the many people who expressed their interest so enthusiastically in The Bioteams Practitioners Network and to let everyone know I have their contact details and will arrange a time to talk before the planned launch in the New Year. Also if you missed it here is the link to the original post. Best Regards Ken Thompson

Michel Bauwens is founder of the Foundation for Peer-to-Peer Alternatives which explores "peer production, governance, and property" and resonates in many ways with Bioteams. Michel addresses his most frequently asked question "So what is P2P anyway?"

I am the team! It might sound like heresy but sometimes the most effective way to produce something is not through collaboration but by just doing it yourself.

As a result of many requests I am pleased to announce the formation of a Bioteams Practitioners Network. For a limited time I am seeking Expressions of Interest from potential network Founder Members.

Since publishing the Bioteams book it has become very clear that there are a small number of defining characteristics of a bioteam. For best results you should ensure that bioteams is right for your particular team / group / community challenge. Here is how to check!

Bernard Hill, playing a loveable grandfather in the BBC TV drama Sunshine, when asked by his grandson "what was the best football match ever?" gives an unexpected and poignant answer: The Christmas Truce..

Hunter New England Health in New South Wales, Australia, have completed a major Pandemic Influenza Simulation Exercise using Swarmteams, a bioteams-based multi-channel community engagement system, to manage the communications of an Emergency Operations Centre.