Book Review: 42 Rules for Successful Collaboration

John D’Entremont, PMP, is a program manager with over 15 years experience in training, managing training teams and designing materials to enhance the skills of managers and executives.

  Communications Management   ProjectsAtWork  

When it comes to leading or working as part of a project team, collaboration (or the lack of it) will often determine the success (or failure) of the endeavor, regardless of planning. A new book gathers 42 rules for collaborating more effectively, covering people, processes and technology.

In his book “42 Rules for Successful Collaboration”, David Coleman, founder and managing director of Collaborative Strategies, solicits the perspectives of numerous business leaders across multiple fields — essentially making the book itself a collaborative process. The result is worth a read for anyone involved in leading or working with project teams.

The book is divided into three sections, which enhances the reader’s experience. If you are facing a particular collaborative dilemma, you can scan the table of contents to see if any of the topics (rules) might be of use.

Section One focuses on “People”. The underlying themes are “why you are collaborating”, and how you can build trust into that collaborative relationship. For some, many of the rules in this section might fall under the “common sense” banner, but they are worth reviewing as a way to “sharpen the saw.” For example, Rule 2: “Know Why You Are Collaborating” aims to drill down to the specifics of the goal. This is an easy rule to …

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