Plan Collaborative Opportunities with Outcomes in Mind

Members want waaaayyy more opportunities to collaborate! But how do you structure opportunities for collaboration?

Well, there are soooo many formats to choose from. Add some helpful constraints and let the outcome guide the structure.

Let’s say you want to create industry standards. You probably need a dedicated group to think through what is best and then document the standard. A small group can combat the Ringelmann Effect, “the tendency for individual members of a group to become increasingly less productive as the size of their group increases.” Some say people become “lazy” in bigger groups because they assume others are doing the work. One association has dozens of small working groups (think 9-15 people) to create standards, training guides, and how-to materials.

Or maybe you want your audience to adapt a strategy, tactic, technology, or new process to organizations of various sizes (after all, smalls do what they do differently than mediums and larges different still). An example could be adapting the use of AI. Here, you might try something like the Virtual Networking Incubator. Everyone is welcome because these events easily scale. During dedicated events, attendees get to experience and try the technology, and then they work together with peers to adapt it to their unique needs.

Or let’s say you have one of those big, hairy, seemingly unsolvable problems. A pervasive problem that’s been around for a long time that everyone complains about, but no one has solved. You might try the Design Thinking process (which is not just for products but can be used to solve just about any problem.)

Collaborative opportunities come in all shapes and sizes. They can be asynchronous or happen live. They can be small or large, hosted online or in person. They can last a long time or be completed in less than an hour. Let your outcome help you decide what format, size, duration, and process is best for your organization and members.