Collaboration: collab-OR-ration-alize your echo chamber

Lately the buzzy word “collaboration” has been on my mind, and I’m ready to rant. I would almost throw it in the category of words like “nice” or “cool”, being so overused they almost passively mean nothing. Yes yes, collaboration has a significant meaning, especially in the field of software development, but I’ve got a running theory on the matter. We all use the word much like one would kick a hacky sack to a fellow team mate. The word is designed to stir up a bunch of chain reactions resulting in a team working together to accomplish a common goal, like a well oiled machine (yay!). I think this rarely happens in reality, though we all want it, and that is the top level of my rather cynical theory (if you haven’t read my first post then fair warning I get fairly cynical, but all in good spirits).

What I think happens is a team of people typically get broken down into two groups. Those that are willing to express their ideas, and those that go along with the loud ones. This can be a dangerous situation for a team. For example, I’m often a loud one, and I come up with a LOT of bad ideas; It’s part of my process, don’t judge! Sometimes these bad ideas fly right through the gate as if they were fully approved and packaged for delivery. This can be better.

I propose a solution to this plague of what I call false-collaboration. A team needs good debate, healthy arguments, and a sprinkle of emotion here and there. It’s okay to get upset at each other in my opinion, whatever it takes to rise passions, as long as there are common ground rules and respect (we won’t go over those rules, it’s a dead horse, we don’t need to beat it). That right there is the blood, sweat and tears of team work in my opinion. Working through both the problem and the socio-emotional dynamic of the team is where the good stuff is. If you don’t believe me go watch a documentary on the Beatles, or any other band for that matter. They argue all the time, and bands like the Beatles make us humans way cooler to any aliens watching out there.

This brings me to the title of the blog, and it’s a message to the shy people on a team. Don’t be afraid to be stupid, ask questions, convince yourself of things, ALWAYS be objective, and never for any reason rationalize an echo chamber. No one knows everything, and I’d even argue everyone knows almost nothing. You might disagree with the latter statement, but I’d wager with the vastness of the universe and how little we understand the cosmos, we know close to nothing. I’m just waiting to hear what those aliens in the tic-tac over the USS Nimitz in 2004 have to say about this. Okay no more alien talk, but hey, sometimes it’s a good way to objectively view humanity.

We as humans become highly specialized in certain areas, and therefore rely on solid collaboration to achieve anything of value. That collaboration only happens if we push each other and challenge the ideas at the table. Also, we have to listen and empathize, not just peddle our own tune when it’s “our turn”. I mean, you can do that, and I think a lot of companies do that. It’s mediocracy, and there’s money in that. But it’s not fulfilling, and I’d wager anyone willing to go 50 billion dollars in debt for a college education is not in virtue of mediocracy. We want to be at the forefront of our generation, the cutting edge. It’s up to us to be loud and break up autonomy. Let’s redefine collaboration, and shape the future of not just software development, but human development. Besides, I bet those aliens are just waiting for Earth’s globalized human collaboration so they can onboard us into intergalactic travel and studies. That sounds sweet, can we do that in my lifetime? Yes, please.