One of the earliest groups to develop and improve and Trademark group collaboration was Matt & Gail Taylor. Hundreds of thousands of people are familiar with their process, and we regard it as one of the most successful here at Collaboration King. Recently, there has been great success with this methodology at sessions on global scale at the World Economic Forum. Below is a YouTube videos from the WEF YouTube Channel explaining this type of collaboration:
The only other real public documentation besides their website explaining MG Taylor's work can be found in a 1997 Fast Company article. Gail Taylors blog is also a great resource. You can also read their book about the process "Leaping the Abyss." Check it out on our book lists. You can also see some of the guides for creating a DesignShop following the MGTaylor Methodology.
SIMPLER WAYS:
Meetings aren't always on a global scale and can't have the time, resources, talent and cost of Matt & Gail Taylor's skills.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have articles like The Good Enough Revolution: When Cheap And Simple Is Just Fine
Using examples like the Flip Video Camera which captured 17% of the video camera market virtually overnight, they discuss how important it is to have 3 things done right: Cheap, Fast & Simple.
So if your everyday collaboration executed Cheap, Fast & Simple the Flip Video Camera way, how will our working lives change?
+ FAST: Long rumored that Donald Rumsfeld held his meetings standing up to increase their speed and effectiveness. Many corporate managers employ this technique, but its pervasiveness is unknown.
Wikipedia image showing how he claims to stand for 8-10 hours per day
+ CHEAP: Google Docs/Apps and Zoho are both free to use to begin your foray into online collaboration.
+ EASY: This is a bit of a problem. Although it is easy to be more collaborative and use proven techniques, it still takes many people confidence and time to breakthrough and realize the potential. Past posts that could also be of use: Self Organizing for Effective Collaboration, Imprinting; Leadership in Meetings, and A Problem Can Not Be Solved At The Same Level It Was Created.