I recently worked with colleagues to identify savings through collaboration between different local councils. Each council delivers the same basic services to their citizens and the brief was to identify potential shared savings which would not compromise service quality. We used a simple but novel design method to achieve this goal which is very relevant in today's harsh economic climate.

Last night I asked my 12-year old son Jamie to design a logo for a new idea I had. He came up with a neat three cogs logo on the theme "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts". However the process was somewhat fraught.....

One of the most important things in any team, network or partnership is to define the rules of engagement (aka Ground Rules). The first step is to agree the major "trust destroyers" which would stop collaboration stone dead in its tracks. Enjoy this hilarious 3-minute video clip from Only Fools and Horses where Rodney tricks Del into a solo hang gliding flight to learn how NOT to build trust with somebody.

#1 The Social Media Healthcheck Reference Card
#2 The Seven Secrets of High Performing Teams (AudioCast)
#3 Leading collaborative business networks - 10 rules

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A serial bank robber was once asked why he robbed banks? He replied "because that's where the money is!" Why have I developed a new discipline called Process Physics? Same answer - because that's where the money is (in a process). "Process Physics" is the discipline of using mathematical process models in conjunction with simulation technology to spot the "money left on the table" in any business processes . My new screencast provides a short hands-on introduction.