Collaboration

I have been checking out social network analysis (SNA) tools which allow social network data (directly input or imported from external systems) to be displayed, manipulated and analysed graphically in a number of ways. I was also looking for SNA tools which are free or have a free version. Here’s 4 tools which look very useful!

Continue readingA great free Social Network Analysis Tool

The Wisdom of Crowds and Collective Intelligence are very useful concepts but not if they are used in the wrong places. Confusing these two concepts will only produce bad results for your groups and teams.

Continue readingCollective stupidity and the madness of crowds

The Delphi Technique is a proven way to harness collective group intelligence (popularly known as the wisdom of crowds) in a wide range of applications.

Continue readingDelphi collective group intelligence tool: powerful and free

In Social Network Analysis: an introduction, Richard Cross, bioteams.com Guest Author, explains the importance of making organisations hidden social networks visible. In this follow-up article Richard discusses how Social Network Analysis (SNA) actually works in practice.

Continue readingSocial Network Analysis in practice

Any social organisation from the smallest team to the largest enterprise carries with it a social network. Until recently these social networks were largely invisible to the organisations which depended on them. Now Social Network Analysis or SNA is a hot topic but what is it, where did it come from and how does it work: Richard Cross, bioteams.com Guest Author, explains.

Continue readingSocial Network Analysis: an introduction

Charles Handy is one of the true pioneers of virtual working: promoting the concept of the virtual organisation long before todays enabling technologies appeared.

Continue readingVirtual Enterprise Design: the doughnut principle

Much has been written about why people collaborate and the pay-offs. Key concepts include Tit for Tat and The Prisoners Dilemma discussed in Dysfunctional teams: bioteam them.

Continue readingA critical test of collaboration: the 3 greens check

We are used to having to work very hard to make collaboration happen in teams and groups however sometimes it just emerges. The Christmas Truce is the true story of how British and German soldiers in the trenches on Christmas eve 1914 called a truce and celebrated Christmas Day by singing carols, exchanging gifts and playing football together. It is an amazing example of nature’s most effective co-operation strategy, Tit for Tat, which emerged spontaneously for, sadly, an all too short time.

Continue readingSpontaneous human cooperation: The Christmas Truce

Pheromone-based messaging is the oldest and most evolved form of biological signalling. It uses chemicals to effect communications between animals and insects through smell and taste. There is an excellent opportunity for today’s virtual teams and mobile groups to re-organise the way they use their internet, email, messaging and presence-aware technologies to gain huge benefits from it.

Continue readingThe perfect mobile group communications system: adopt nature’s oldest signalling system

Bioteaming – the secret to high-performing, self-organising, virtually networked teams

In my research into bioteaming I have (so far) identified four action zones and about a dozen action rules.This article provides a brief introduction.

Continue readingThe secret DNA of high-performing virtual teams