Every so often, I review old magazines, blogs, podcasts etc. looking for some topic or thought I may have missed, that might interest me (or others I know). Missed a big one in the latest issue of the Rotman Magazine entitled: “Wicked Problems” (I explain the term later if you can hold on).

Page 17 has an interesting interview with CogNexus Institute founder, Jeff Conklin. The title page states: “Building Shared Understanding of Wicked Problems“, predicting an interesting analysis of the changing world of problem- solving, that is increasingly solved via a shared understanding of the problem-at-hand.

Sounds very collaborative…

In one of my many (more recent) ‘wanders’ through the internet I re-connected with a distant colleague from many years ago at Rotman. Seeing a new role he’d taken on, led me to his company website. I was hooked. And a deeper ‘cyberdig’ (love that term), reveled a good, rudimentary article on ‘how to start thinking about collaboration: 101‘ for companies. Entitled: “Ten Questions to Ask about Business Opportunities through Collaboration” (sorry you need to register), the writers document the necessary considerations of and planning for a roll-out of a collaborative strategy.

There were definitely a few: “Thank you! Someone else gets it too” moments… But the overall point? Collaboration is more than a strategic advantage, it’s a strategic imperative…

In a close follow-up to a post from yesterday, I came across an interesting (Irish Business) article on the importance of social networking: “Get on the social ladder“. It lays out the: “ten ways to make social networks work for your company”.

Although slightly repetitive, some good material. In a nutshell though…

Not many are oblivious or ignorant of social media and networking, nor don’t use web 2.0 technologies, despite most not realising it. Anyone who has logged into a website, shared personal information online or uploaded any data to the old “internet machine”, in the immortal words of Will Farrell (Blades of Glory for those that know not of what I speak), has participated in social media. True, this particpation may not have taken a direct, or extroverted, form, such as blogs or (registered) networking sites, but those forms are only a sub-set of a much larger category of social media.

But, despite this prevalent and pervasive use, regardless of the ignorance of the masses to its use, a pressing question has arisen…

What is the business model? Well, the revenue potential is still an allusive and debated model, but the value of social media is not…

It sometimes appears Barrack Obama has an exhaustive set of tools to help in both understanding and managing an immense group of stakeholders. His latest tool? Nudges. A recent Times article [on Obama] led me to pick up Richard Thaler & Cass Sunstein’s latest books: “Nudges: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness“. Appears that it’s not just Obama who’s using Nudges. Almost everyone is- whether one is aware of their use is another matter.

Ah, the elusive goal of any change programme: get people to do something, without them thinking they are being manipulated or coerced to do so! Enter the world of the: “nudge“. Defined as: “to push against gently, especially in order to gain attention or give a signal…“ Now enter the world of using nudges to subtly direct behaviour. This is emerging as theme in the world of collaborative design, industrial psychology and business & politics. The most recent update? Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein’s latest book, aptly called: “Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth & Happiness“.

And with the likes of Barack Obama, Steven Levitt and Michael Lewis all taking notice, maybe we all should…

Just finished reading an article on Chris Hughes, and how he helped Barack Obama build not just his online profile, but a medium to enable self- directed teams and push Obama to victory. The really interesting part of the article, “How Chirs Hughes Helped Launch Facebook and the Barack Obama Campaign“, is that Hughes advocates that technology is just the tool, not the end goal. Ultimately Hughes advocates, like any authentic human interaction, a commonality must be established.

Couldn’t agree more… As Obama’s success has shown, match authentic leadership, with the distributive and self- directing power of Web2.0, and a powerful campaign for almost any cause can be realised.

To coin a phrase from a book I’ve advocated for a long time, Authenticity: “For those that seek the real-  and find the truth.” Well, the truth and real are more achievable than ever before thanks to Web2.0. But don’t let this suggest Web2.0 is the truth or real. It’s only the medium.

Interesting article in Fast Company recently, “Why Are the Most Creative People in Business Skipping Out on Web 2.0?“, got me thinking about if one can get by without a Web2.0 presence. Like any integrative thinking, the answer is yes and no.

Obama recently announced that “healthcare overhaul could save U.S. trillions“. The April 18th, 2009 edition of the Economist seems healthcare a worthy enough topic to dedicate an entire section to it. More importantly, and interestingly, the articles focus on technology in healthcare. Whats noteworthy about this, however, is not just that healthcare is using technology to solve fundamental issues, rather it is the types of technology healthcare is using. You got it. Web2.0.  It appears that one of the least technically savvy industries is leaping ahead of the curve.

It’s not readily found, but try to find it when next in your town. It’s a must see…