Comments on: Unnatural Acts Performed By Unwilling Participants http://musematic.net/2009/06/30/unnatural-acts-performed-by-unwilling-participants/ Rants and raves on the latest trends in the world of museum informatics and technology. An intrepid cast of experts from the Museum Computer Network and AAM's Media & Technology Committee share their insights, observations and tricks of the trade. Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:42:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Bruce http://musematic.net/2009/06/30/unnatural-acts-performed-by-unwilling-participants/comment-page-1/#comment-15402 Bruce Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:22:54 +0000 http://musematic.net/?p=688#comment-15402 I like collaboration, but usually the advocacy for collaboration ignores the potential downsides which are think are the more important parts to grapple with. I agree with you Rich that the collaborative network yields higher dividends -- I see most of our professional relationships (which are also personal) fitting into this category. If you ask me for help, I'll almost always give it unconditionally because we've established a mutual level of trust and respect. But, while looking at the benefits of deeper collaboration, it seems like there's an inverse sliding scale of de-benefit: loss of control (and direction), dilution of individual ideas, pragmatism (external factors). These aren't insignificant and depending on your needs at a given moment can be the factors that preclude easy collaboration. There's no easy answer and there's not a sweet spot, but I do think it's important to address and appreciate those factors which can seem negative on the face of it, but are things we all encounter from our ideal of working collaboratively. I like collaboration, but usually the advocacy for collaboration ignores the potential downsides which are think are the more important parts to grapple with. I agree with you Rich that the collaborative network yields higher dividends — I see most of our professional relationships (which are also personal) fitting into this category. If you ask me for help, I’ll almost always give it unconditionally because we’ve established a mutual level of trust and respect.

But, while looking at the benefits of deeper collaboration, it seems like there’s an inverse sliding scale of de-benefit: loss of control (and direction), dilution of individual ideas, pragmatism (external factors). These aren’t insignificant and depending on your needs at a given moment can be the factors that preclude easy collaboration. There’s no easy answer and there’s not a sweet spot, but I do think it’s important to address and appreciate those factors which can seem negative on the face of it, but are things we all encounter from our ideal of working collaboratively.

]]> By: Guenter Waibel http://musematic.net/2009/06/30/unnatural-acts-performed-by-unwilling-participants/comment-page-1/#comment-15309 Guenter Waibel Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:38:13 +0000 http://musematic.net/?p=688#comment-15309 RIch, thanks for sharing this, and great to see you on Musematic! Your statement about risk and reward reminded me of the collaboration quadrant I put together to help participants of our library, archive and museum workshops evaluate a project. Take a look at http://hangingtogether.org/?p=279. In the final report of that same project, we also took great pains to try to characterize different types of collaborations using what we called the collaboration continuum (page 11, http://www.oclc.org/programs/publications/reports/2008-05.pdf). The types of collaborators Dr. Mary McDonald outlined seems to correspond to stages 3, 4 and 5 of Tribal Leadership as described by Dave Logan (USC) - you'll find a quick & dirty summary at http://www.watercoolerview.com/2009/05/corporate-culture-and-tribal-leadership.html. RIch, thanks for sharing this, and great to see you on Musematic!

Your statement about risk and reward reminded me of the collaboration quadrant I put together to help participants of our library, archive and museum workshops evaluate a project. Take a look at http://hangingtogether.org/?p=279. In the final report of that same project, we also took great pains to try to characterize different types of collaborations using what we called the collaboration continuum (page 11, http://www.oclc.org/programs/publications/reports/2008-05.pdf). The types of collaborators Dr. Mary McDonald outlined seems to correspond to stages 3, 4 and 5 of Tribal Leadership as described by Dave Logan (USC) – you’ll find a quick & dirty summary at http://www.watercoolerview.com/2009/05/corporate-culture-and-tribal-leadership.html.

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