Are you smarter than a goose? Sure you are -- one on one. But when it comes to working efficiently, you and your colleagues can't touch the gaggle. According to author Ken Thompson, geese and other animals that naturally form groups have a lot to teach us about business. In a theory he calls organizational biomimetics, Thompson lays out the principles underlying nature's management strategies. So what can you learn from a bird or an ant? Take a gander. Katharine Gammon at Wired Magazine reports.

Robin Good, as part of his Professional Blogging Series has published an excellent set of 5 short video interview clips of when we met at his office in Rome earlier in the summer to discuss how the bioteams.com blog came about, what was involved in building up its readership, what were the main benefits and what was learned from the whole blogging experience.

The Economist, July 16th 2008, reports on “The cult of the dabbawala” a 5000 strong collective who are the direct descendants of a 17th century Indian warrior king. The dabbawalla have developed a fantastic reputation for organisational excellence and amazing teamwork all based on a collective leadership model without the need for any technology!

*** STOP PRESS *** Stunning Interactive Poll results from NLAB Social Networks Conference. Q1 Would your work team be better or worse if it organised itself more like your favourite sports team? - Only 7% say it would make things worse! Q2 Does Twitter (and other such tools) distract from work and is it worth it? - Yes it does but Yes it is!

New Scientist reports on new research at the Harvard Medical School which suggests that targeting anti-smoking campaigns at social networks, rather than individuals, is a more effective way to reduce smoking rates.

One of the biggest nuisances on the web today is when somebody sends out SPAM pretending to be from your email. This is known as Sender Address Forgery and it could become a thing of the past due to a new open standard called Sender Policy Framework (SPF).

An excellent article in The Economist (10th April 2008), Nomads at last, describes the growing band of “digital nomads” who travel light from oasis to oasis with only an iPhone or a Blackberry and traces how they evolved from “digital astronauts” (who carried all their vital supplies with them) through “digital hermit crabs” (with a basic shell of devices, batteries and connectors) to their current digital nomadic form.

In a BusinessWeek Special Report, February 2008, Matt Vella reports on how Janine Benyus, dean of the burgeoning "biomimicry" design movement, helps companies look to the natural world to help take their business green.

To coincide with the launch of my bioteams book I am delighted to announce Bioteams Books where I intend to collect The Bumblebees Top 100 Collaboration books. Just click on the books tab on the main blog menu to go to a brand new section of the Bioteams blog where you will be able to see, on a single web page, all the best books, in my humble opinion, on collaboration, team dynamics and virtual/mobile teams.

Humankind is the only species that places its trust in a small group of "leaders" to determine the best direction for the whole group. In his follow-up article to Did ants invent the perfect system for communicating via mobile technology? Ken Thompson, explores whether we can learn a thing or two about leadership from nature's most successful teams.