Q&A: Peter Cochrane, futurologist

Define collaboration in just three words

Working in harmony.

How important is effective communication to modern business success?

Vital! The GDP of a Nation and the RoI of companies is entirely dictated by their ability to communicate and organise.

What are the key benefits of having the right collaboration and communication strategy in place and acting upon it?

Getting the most/best you can from any organisation is largely dependent upon getting the right strategy. But strategies are not set in concrete, the move with time and circumstance!

What are companies currently doing well when it comes to collaboration and communication?

Apple, BMW, IBM, Rolls Royce to name but a few...

Conversely, what could they be doing better/more of/less of? And why?

Recognise and adapt to the different operational needs of those parts of their organisation that are innovating and those that are delivering - the difference is akin to The SAS and The Redcoats!

Who in the organisation should be taking the lead when it comes to choosing the right tools and implementing them successfully?

Managers and all c-level grades.

Who else in the organisation is critical to success here?

The people and board members.

How do you ensure you're collaborating and communicating effectively? Do you have any words from the wise or anecdotes from other real-world experience you can share?

Never assume people hear, read or understand what you write, say and demonstrate. Very often you have to repeat in order to get everyone on the same page. So show and tell to individuals, and then repeat with all of them in a group and get them to discuss and question. And whilst they do - listen! So: in short - Talk, Type and Show.

Where do you see the market and adoption of communication and collaboration tools headed?

It is going to be defined by the maximal users, the pro-actives, the needy and the desperate - they will define what works and what does not. It will not be in the corporate gift to tell people how to get the job done! Those days have gone, the world is moving too fast.

What will successful corporate collaboration and communication looks like five or 10 years from now?

More BYOD, mobility, open and cloud working with greater degrees of intelligence embedded in machines, networks and applications. The need to share will have totally eclipsed The Need to Know and most of today's security and privacy paranoia will have subsided.

Why should people attend this event?

A good idea, decision and/or action today can turn out to be very damaging in the near and far future, so understanding what is coming is now more important than understanding what we have today.

Attend our exclusive event on 8th July to hear more from Peter and others who know their stuff when it comes to communication and collaboration. Click here for more information.