In recent facilitations I’ve been doing with clients, I have again been able to reflect on the power of team collaboration, and how when we bring the right talent together and apply critical thinking principles to their task – the outcomes are significantly better than the usual approach of just ‘winging it’.

Whether I am facilitating with people in mining, retail, banking, insurance, research, technology, public service, education or any of the many different industries I’ve had the opportunity to work in, the results are always the same.  The team always gets us better, faster, more enduring results than individual effort.

Not that I discount the power or value of the individual.  Indeed my view is that individuals make all the difference, but when resolute individuals are able to appreciate and engage in collaborative activity, the achievements can be outstanding.

I have had the pleasure of working with, and in my early days being mentored by, giants in the world of thinking, business, education and more and in every case they listened to, and were appreciative of the team and the power of collaboration.

In starting Mindwerx 13 years ago, we were guided in spirit and direct involvement with collaborative thinkers, and in the work we have done since then, teamwork has dominated.  Our approach to Deliberate Creative Thinking is designed to empower team thinking, just as the use of various technologies do.

Whether we are using stock standard approaches such as creative thinking processes, lateral thinking, or other creative thinking tools the aim is the same.  And in the last ten years we have married together thinking tools with technology such as software like MindGenius, iMindMap, Camtasia, Cloud computing and of course Zing technology.

Last year we facilitated using Zing with more than 200 public servants to outline the challenges they faced and the actions they might take to meet them.  We run regular and frequent facilitations with executive teams doing strategic planning, and marketing and sales people seeking new growth ideas.

The key is to bring together the key ingredients in any thinking session, which I have outlined in previous blogs, Focus – People – Time and Tools to get the very best from your team events.

I have just re-recordered an eModule on the use of Zing for super effective creative team collaboration that gives a great demonstration of Zing and Deliberate Creative Thinking in action.  This session is with a pharmaceutical company, but the focus is on creating an innovative company.  So if you are interested in teamwork, creativity or innovation have a look now, and if you would like more information on how we might facilitate a session with your team, or want to organise a Zing demonstration email me anytime – Bill@mindwerx.com.

Read more about how Mindwerx connects technology with thinking.