The joy of collaboration
I discovered this video via Chris Brogan’s blog. His post is titled “The Beauty of Collaboration.” I’ve titled mine the JOY of collaboration because I think that successful collaborations do create joy – both from the sense of accomplishment they help create (50% of respondents to yesterday’s poll cited a sense of accomplishment as the root of their good mood) and from the simple act of cooperating with others in the pursuit of a common goal.
There is something poignantly striking about people coming together to create something – particularly when there’s no motive beyond the act of creation. Maybe I’m overly sensitive, but I’m often moved to tears by these types of projects. Watching videos like the Do-Re-Mi dance performance at Belgium’s Central Station or the JK Wedding dance sends tingles down my spine. I think about all the effort that went into the final product – all the hours of planning and practice, the way people must have worked together – defining and redefining the finished product, the sense of camaraderie, the euphoria they must have felt when they reached their goal. These kinds of interactions are, in my opinion, critical to being human.
I enjoyed this video because it’s very message is about collaborating, and the way it’s presented beautifully illustrates what’s possible through collaboration and the joy that it can bring. These people are having fun. They are stepping outside their normal day-to-day existence to reach out and interact with other people. They are becoming part of something bigger than themselves. They do not expect to receive anything in return, they did this purely for the joy of the experience. And now we get to experience that joy vicariously … and spread it by sharing with our friends.
One last note, I can’t possibly write a post about collaboration without sending a shout out to my fabulous Savvy Sistahs. We are a group of six women from disparate backgrounds who came together organically while participating in an online training about writing white papers. The obvious result of our collaboration is the Savvy B2B Marketing blog which we launched this past spring. I am proud of what we’ve done on the blog, but place more value on the joy I’ve experienced working with these women. While we built our blog, we also built relationships with each other. We have learned from each other, promoted each other, supported each other through personal and professional crises, and laughed a great deal along the way. I can’t think of a more wonderful way to “work,” if you can even call it that.
Have you been part of any joyful collaborations? What did you accomplish, “obviously” and “personally?”
October 13th, 2009 at 10:15 PM
I get teary too, Jamie – you’re not alone! Maybe we should start a “Sappy Sisters” blog…
I’m part of a private social network on http://www.Ning.com, where a group of us who “met” on another blog that was discontinued are still able to keep in touch. I actually started the site, having no experience doing so before, and these women have filled it with blog posts, photos, videos, stories, baby pictures – you name it, we’ve covered it! There is tremendous support for what life hands us, and there have been some doozies. But we know we are there for each other, and it’s such a powerful, real source of community even though we’ve never actually met! I believe that the type of community-building you’ve so eloquently discussed in your post is the most vital thing we can do. (Somebody cue up “We Are the World!”)
October 13th, 2009 at 11:12 PM
Rebecca – “… it’s such a powerful, real source of community even though we’ve never actually met!”
I’ve found this to be so true of many Web communities. Some of my closest mommy friends are women that I have never (and probably will never) meet in “real” life. One of the most wonderful things about the social Web is the way it empowers us to free ourselves of geographic boundaries – opening us up to the possibility of relationships with anyone from anywhere in the world.
And I LOVE the idea of the “Sappy Sisters.” Sounds like fun to me!
October 15th, 2009 at 9:01 AM
Jamie, my Savvy Sister…it IS amazing how our Savvy Sisterhood has reached farther into our lives than I’m sure any of us would have imagined. I love that it has grown in an organic way into what it is today. Looking forward to seeing what’s around the corner for all of us as we continue to collaborate!
October 15th, 2009 at 10:04 AM
@Stephanie – We’re pretty lucky, aren’t we? I agree that part of the beauty of it is the way it’s grown organically. I don’t think any of us feel pressure or obligation – it just ebbs and flows naturally. Thanks so much for swingin’ by.