collaboration

I've been hearing the buzz word for weeks, and it keeps cropping up. Collaboration. But what does it really mean? Seth Godin has mentioned some interesting things in his blog http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/

Who is involved when you're collaborating? Is it the meeting of minds for a single purpose, or just a bunch of people working on the same thing. are those the same or not the same

Funders love the word. They also like the word Multidisciplinary, and better yet, Multicultural. Really, if you just take a bunch of "Multi-" words and combine them with the word "Collaboration" you've got yourself a viable project. Right?

But what about in daily life? What about working on a regular project for a grade perhaps. Maybe if funding were on the line, the idea of collaboration would be accepted but in school it seems, it's every man for himself.

If you want to work with a group - to collaborate - you have to be able to bring something to the table. That's true of work and school. In the work place there seems to be a tiny bit more objectivity. But I don't think it matters what level you're working at, it's still kids on a playground and someone has to get picked last when collaboration is forced upon us.

more thoughts to come