Hill wrote this in 1937 – Think and Grow Rich. As much as we may want to believe that we’ve made progress as a society I can’t help but think we really haven’t. We seem to be struggling with the same problems, and if we really believe that using the same solutions will result in different outcomes, we’re just kidding ourselves. Maybe it’s time to use a different approach. Maybe it’s time to use a different model.
Teamwork is when someone must subordinate personal aspirations and the leader wins.
Teamwork is a joint action by 2 or more persons or a group, in which each subordinates his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group. This does not mean that the individual is no longer important; however, it does mean that effective and efficient teamwork goes beyond individual accomplishments. The most effective teamwork is produced when all the individuals involved harmonize their contributions and work towards a common goal. In order for teamwork to succeed, one must be a team-player. A team-player is one who subordinates personal aspirations and works in a coordinated effort with other members of a group, or a team, to strive for a common goal. Businesses and other organizations often go to the effort of coordinating team building events in an attempt to get people to work as a team rather than as individuals.
Collaboration – there are no leaders. Everyone wins.
Collaboration is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together toward an intersection of common goals — e.g., sharing knowledge, learning, and building consensus is an intellectual endeavor that is creative in nature. Collaboration does not require leadership, and can sometimes bring better results through decentralization and egalitarism. 
This is an image of a structure that was used to create a philanthropic organization based on the idea of collaboration. Project Red Dot (www.projectreddot.org) was established in 2008 as a way for individuals to work towards a common goal – in this case, to help people in Ghana, Africa connect to the world. It has produced incredible results while using a minimal amount of resources because the model is based on collaboration.
I’ve recently reconnected with Doug Mendel and I’m attempting to set up a similar structure to help his orgainzation (www.dougmendel.com). By combining the right combination of talented, motivated and resourceful people, a tremendous amount of progress can be made while using little or no resources. In the case of Project Red Dot, they’ve been able to re-deploy laptops that would have ended up in a landfill. In Doug Mendel’s case, he moved a fire truck from Colorado to Cambodia. Both used the same model. Both yielded amazing results.
My question is – how can YOU use this model to reach your goals and aspirations?
Tags: Collaboration, Culture