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Collaboration 4.0:
Working Together for the Common Good
by John Renesch
Could it be that collaboration on a global
scale may be finally catching on? Why
would I say that when it would appear to have completely vanished from the
halls of Congress, the U.N., and most every other established institution
created by people to deal with issues affecting all of us? Why would I say that
when gridlock, impasse and polarity of ideologies seem to be realities of the
day?
Perhaps
I’m addressing a path other than the conventional and established way
– the path of social entrepreneurship. There are some really effective
initiatives out there started by individuals wanting to make a difference - not
governments or official agencies of large institutions.
If
this new wave of collaboration is real why might it be emerging now? Possibly
because people are experiencing a common threat and, as a result, are more
willing to work together to mitigate the negative impact; possibly because
people are realizing the limits of personal or even national initiatives when
it comes to the global commons; or possibly due to some other widely accepted
realization or understanding.
For
sure many people will remain forever nationalistic. Many will also continue to
rely on established institutions to deal with various crises, despite their
ineffectiveness and impotence. But a few enterprising people are creating
alternative solutions, setting up their own initiatives and social enterprises
to resolve situations which established institutions are failing to address.
Collaboration
4.0: This is where social entrepreneurship and collaboration intersect. In the
past, many social entrepreneurs have established their own non-profits to
correct some social ill. But many establish their own organizations while
ignoring the established organizations already attempting to do the same
thing. This has created much
duplication, competition in fund -raising and media coverage as well as
sourcing volunteers, leading to inefficiencies and diluted effectiveness. One
principle dynamic at play in these duplicative situations is that often the
founders of these organizations enjoy the image of being “the
founder” of something that has a noble cause – a cause with which
they identify.
The
collaboration that is most needed now is where self-actualized individuals who
don’t need or want an identity outside of who they are can come together
and join forces for a common effort without the need for acknowledgement, reward
or recognition. They are doing the work because it fulfills them not because
their images will be enhanced or their egos will get fluffed.
As
some readers know, I have been forming the Global Collaborators’ Alliance
over the past couple of years. The Alliance’s mission is to encourage
voluntary collaborations amongst its membership, so individual Fellows make
offers and requests of each other, furthering the work already in progress.
Since each Fellow was invited to join the Alliance because he or she was
already doing good work, the Alliance is not asking it members to take on new
responsibility but merely to reach out to other members as they see a way to
lend a hand or ask for help. The
Alliance has been my first attempt to foster collaboration is an organizational
context.
Last
month, I mentioned FourYears.Go. Having
recently jumped into this new initiative where teams of people are working
together to get the word out to the hundreds of thousands of organizations out
there working toward peace, ending slave trafficking, nuclear weapons control, a
sustainable environment, social justice, clean water, women’s rights and
all the other social causes so they can join the initiative as allies. I have
been very impressed with the degree of volunteerism I’ve witnessed since
early January amongst people with widespread reputation, large responsibilities
and already-busy lives.
The
refusal to collaborate has long been a pet peeve of mine. It may take a huge common
threat for human beings to really start thinking collaboratively. Maybe this is
the higher purpose these various crises we have surrounding us – a larger
force nudging us toward a higher level of relationship with one another. After all, it wouldn’t be the first
time the human race was took a major evolutionary leap while kicking and
screaming all the way.
[see John’s
blog at Global Dialogue Center
for more about collaboration and global transformation]