What is Collaboration?

“COS is a phenomenal system for those organizations who want the best from all of their people. We continue to grow and thrive in this challenging economy and we count the COS as one of the key contributors to our success.”
- Jim Blue, CEO, Bostonian Group

Let's get concrete about "collaboration"

For many organizations, collaboration is expressed as a core value or as an orientation toward teamwork. Conveying collaboration in this manner, by printing it in an employee handbook or listing it on a wall plaque, for example, will not generate superior results.

The ubiquitous trend of listing “collaboration” as an espoused value while providing no way to translate that value into a set of real behaviors and processes ensures that it remains only an ambition. Groups that operate with implicit notions about collaboration tend to experience their work like driving bumper cars at the fair.

Collaboration, as we define it, is an explicit set of tools and principles that integrate seamlessly to form a system; hence the name, “Collaborative Operating System”.

The Collaborative Operating System is an explicit approach, supporting the team in creating its own conditions for becoming unified and high-performing. Even clients who self-identify as “very collaborative” report a dramatic increase in their ability to collaborate after learning this way of working.

Does the Way You Work Actually Work?

Without a way to work together to leverage the information and resources we have, complex problems become intractable. The missing piece isn't know-how or even money, it's our inability to collaborate... read more

What is Hierarchy, Anyway?

Nearly every organization today operates according to hierarchy. Hierarchy is the prevailing paradigm, the default approach to all work, and most people can't imagine life without it... read more

A Way of Working That Works

The Collaborative Operating System is a dynamic and sophisticated system that will categorically out-perform your current approach. You can use the COS to solve a problem, make a decision, manage a project, or to run an organization, political party, or country... read more