February 2007
The secret physics of social network growth
A crowd draws a crowd but you need to be fit too. Distinguished Physicist Albert Laszlo Barabasi in his excellent book "Linked - the New Science of Networks" lets us into the secret of how any kind of network grows.
Google Apps Premier: web-based office collaboration
Yesterday Google announced a new premier edition of its Google Apps online collaboration suite, combining GMail, Google Talk, Calendar. Page Creator, Startpage, Google Docs and Spreadsheets under a hosted subscription service. Robin Good offers an excellent review of the components, pricing and the support package.
Can a team have just one member
The best team is Me. It might sound like heresy but sometimes the most effective way to produce something is not through collaboration but by just doing it yourself.
Improve team conference calls with a very simple trick
Create a single frame video conference using a peopleclock to help participants concentrate and engage better.
Social networking and relationship ecosystems
The current focus on ‘social networking’ might make us think we should spend all our efforts warming up distant relationships and creating new ones. However it would be a big mistake if we neglected the relationships we already have. We can learn a lot about relationship ecosystems from Jim Henson the inventor of the Muppets.
The team brain concept
James Thornton in “You Have Three Brains” reports on research that we each have, not one but, three brains nested within our skulls – a lizard brain, a dog brain, and a human brain. This got me thinking – if teams are really living systems then they might have 3 brains too?
Freeriding in teams, communities and networks: 5 tips for fighting it
One of the biggest problems in teams, communities and networks, whether co-located or virtual, is freeriding (aka freeloading or lurking or loafing) where certain team members do not pull their weight. Here are 5 things you can do about it.
Organizational teams need early movers
Why do I always have to take the garbage out : new social network research may explain why some team tasks just never get done.
Workplace stress reduction: Six steps to a stress-free career
For those of us still working in offices New Scientist Magazine suggests a number of excellent ways to reduce your workplace stress. Full of good practical ideas plus some less practical ones such as visiting an oxygen bar, relaxing by sniffing your colleague’s armpits and strolling across to the animal therapy centre.
The Three Laws of Teams
Isaac Asimov, forecasted the coming age of Robots and developed the famous Three Laws of Robotics. Asimov’s laws can be easily adapted to teams to determine if your team is Performing or Inverted (a team where the individual, team and other member priorities have got muddled).







