"For the Birds" from Pixar is a hilarious 3-minute cartoon video which I have used many times as a ice-breaker with teams, networks and groups. It is a great way to make people laugh, relax and quickly open up a really good discussion on some very important team-related issues. Make sure you watch right to the end with the sound on!

When a group reviews how well they are collaborating they usually discuss two questions: Is it working for us? and Is it working for me? I suggest they have missed a third totally crucial question, Does it feel fair?

Knowledge-based SMEs and SMBs (small fish) need to read "The Networked Enterprise (TNE) - competing for the future through Virtual Enterprise Networks (VENs)" with its numerous real examples and proven techniques to find out how to use VENs to develop strategic partnerships with BIG FISH (large enterprises) to propel them to the next level of competitive success. BIG FISH must also use TNE to gain enhanced access to innovation, agility and alternative risk/reward and cost models by partnering with small fish via VENs.

Steven Poole, writing for the Guardian on Saturday March 15, reviews "Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration", by Keith Sawyer and concludes that the book's big idea is that there is no such thing as the lone genius: everything turns out to be collaborative.

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.

The Tipu Ake Lifecycle is based on the analogy of a tree growing in a forest and subject to "pests" which try to constrain it, "birds" which plant the seeds for long term future for the species and "poisons" which inhibit the process of germination.

Wired Magazine reports in ‘Geeks in Toyland’ that Lego now get it on the power of customer co-invention after they invited leading users to join the Lego R&D Team to collaborate on an upgrade to Mindstorms Robots.

With such an ever-growing list of collaboration platforms and applications of all shapes and sizes I thought it would be useful to gather together five of my favourite Collaboration Software Directories in one place.

Mindquarry (an Open Source Collaborative Software Supplier ) have developed a visual resource: Periodic Table of Collaboration covering 60+ elements over 4 categories: People (Roles), Productivity Software, Collaborative Software and Methods.

I am pleased to announce the launch of “The Bumble Bee's Top Collaboration Techniques” as a mini site within www.bioteams.com as a practical resource for coaches, facilitators and team leaders who are incubating or supporting teams, networks, groups or communities, either Virtual or Co-located.

In his unique book Dialogue and the art of thinking together William Issacs introduces the Four-Player System originally developed by David Kantor. This is a very important technique for supporting real collaborative thinking in teams.

OK so you may be able to define collaboration, but will it help you achieve it?

Poor organisational intelligence leads to 'coblaboration' instead of collaboration.Harvard Professor, David Perkins, in his latest book, "King Arthur's Round Table : How Collaborative Conversations Create Smart Organizations", discusses the importance of "organisational Intelligence" and "developmental leadership" and how the absence of these leads to coblaboration rather than collaboration in organisational teams.

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.

Here is a brilliantly simple technique, which I call The 4 Team Stressors, for waking a team up to some serious problems which, in the pressures of work, it has somehow managed to totally ignore and which might just sink it!

People are always asking me about good, proven techniques for developing and supporting teams, networks and communities so heres an introduction to my favourite fifteen techniques for teams.

Science Daily, “Establishing Trust Online Is Critical For Online Communication Say NJIT Experts” reports the conclusions of a paper “Swift Trust in Virtual Teams".