I downloaded the TED app to my iPad and decided to do a quick search on collaboration. I planned on spending several hours watching these TED videos. I didn't anticipate that the first video I saw would prove to be so inspiring. It doesn't deal with corporate training, and it doesn't mention collaboration. There were several reasons it was inspiring. The speaker's passion for the subject matter was what first made me think that there was something special going on. It wasn't just his passion, though. It was the whole story: how they went from being a publishing company to a retail store to a community-wide tutoring group. The way they used what they had and made it work for everyone by being creative really struck a chord with me.
I know that your time is valuable, but I feel that if you take 25 minutes to watch this video you will understand why this has impacted me.
Pirates, Superheros, Time Travel, Fighting Words and happy kids. People working together to achieve something for people they don't know. Just because they have something to offer. Because they want to help. There is this need, this void that needs to be filled in these kids lives, and these people are helping them, selflessly. I don't think that this should have surprised or impacted me as much as it did, but it did.
Since watching Dave Eggers' video, I've been trying to think about how I can do something like this. How can I achieve this in my environment? How can I pull this inspiration into my training? I should focus on the constraints that I'm facing within my organization. I should use the same kind of creativity that his group used to solve their dilemma. Focus on the end result. Make adjustments to the program as I go along.
They collaborated together and developed this amazing thing that has impacted untold number of people. How many kids that are nine have been published five, yes five, times? To be able to impact people and create successful members of society is amazing. How can this be done with adults? Collaborating with my peers and coming up with creative and innovative ways to involve the people who are going to be impacted most with the training should be the focus. If I'm told "this is what you've got" then I need to work with people to make 'this' go above and beyond. I know it can be done. If I create a culture of fun, creative, and innovative learning at my place of employment while collaborating with my peers, I will view myself as a success.
The most important thing out of this whole 'insight' for me is to realize that while the focus of the collaboration is different for Dave Eggers' and myself, the method for achieving the results is oddly similar. We'll use our individual talents to create an environment that is irresistible to those partaking in what it provides.
