The Different Flavors of Collaboration
It seems everyone involved in the office real estate industry in any capacity is forming (and in many cases, blogging) a view on what the “new normal” will be once the virus is under control and we have the option to return to work.
The same seems to be true within the much smaller subset of real estate which is innovation, discovery, or science “based” – that is, where institutions come together for the primary purpose of the collective generation of new ideas. Left and right we read how collaboration – the sine qua non of innovation-producing activity – will take one of the following forms:
1. Become completely virtual in the future
2. Return to a world very much like 2019
3. Any combination or variant in between
All are interesting mental gymnastics, but in reality, at this moment, who could truly know?
“Personally, I suspect this mass prognostication is much more about the inherent discomfort of humans in uncertain situations, than it is about anyone having any particularly accurate insight into the post-pandemic behavior patterns of millions of office users,” states David Tydall, owner and founder of Collaborative Real Estate. “On the other hand, simply declaring, humbly, that the future is a “known unknown” doesn’t mean we can’t begin to position ourselves and our real estate to be optimally prepared for the onset of the new ‘normal.’”
To do so, companies need to retreat back to the pre-pandemic world and take a more thoughtful and refined view of (a) all the different ways people were actually using innovation real estate environments, (b) what sub-types of collaboration actually served those various needs, and (c) what properties were doing to facilitate those “flavors,” or different forms, of collaboration.
Tyndall continues, “I for one would start with a high-level categorization of the five types of ‘innovation centers’ which I have seen – and engaged with – over the years:”
Research and Development (R&D) Lab – The classic R&D facility where people who know a lot about how things currently work regularly assemble together to seek other, better ways for how things could work.
Innovation Camp – An increasingly popular corporate location away from the headquarters and satellite offices. Here, teams are brought in for episodic exposures to facilitators and design-thinking so as to broadly inculcate values of novelty, creativity, and disruption into a workforce.
New Stuff Socialization – Home base for forces against the “not-invented-here” cause of death for many innovative approaches. These facilities suggest they are where ideas are being formed, though in reality, they are often more simply orienting wider groups with the ideations of a few already made before the sessions start.
Corporate Sea Lab – These are the facilities that are pictured in both the annual report and the employee newsletter. They serve as an icon in the consciousness of all employees that, in this particular institution, innovation is thought of favorably and future changes are relished and rewarded. They also promote pride in the progressivity of the corporate culture.
Disruptive Talent Search Office – These can take a few different forms, from modest displays of a company’s past technological accomplishments, all the way to a Hollywood set-designed staging area for “awesome” intern experiences. These facilities are looking less for ideas and more for new employees who are likely to have lots of novel suggestions in the future.
While these are organized on something of a spectrum, it doesn’t mean that either end of that range – or any place in between – is, in any way, a more or less legitimate purpose for a location in a discovery or innovation-based facility. And, most of these locations do simultaneously, or at different times, blend more than one of these approaches. Essentially, the point is that users have a variety of objectives when it comes to their properties, and we need to be aware of that.
Considering the above, it follows that different users are actually seeking out different types of collaboration in order to support their particular “innovation center’s” objectives. While the term “collaboration” seems to refer to some level of generality around the action of humans working together to produce or create something, it does stand to reason that it can come in many forms, or “flavors.” To this effect, there are at least three important axes of those varieties: depth, breadth, and intentionality.
For instance, R&D scientists might benefit from a broad survey of viewpoints in some contexts, even one presented on a random buzz feed of subjects and authors. But there will most likely be some deep and complex ideation and sharing between multiple, mutually-trusting seekers joined intentionally in a pursuit which will produce a sought-after discovery.
Conversely, with certain talents not being in sufficient supply to satisfy all the openings for those needs, a wide (though not particularly deep) network of interactions among intentional seekers and serendipitous bystanders might best serve the user’s needs.
And in between, there are those who will benefit simply from the inspiration of a place filled with very obviously curious people.
With so many objectives producing a wide variety of needs, companies have traditionally sought to deliver for their customers and clients by providing a wide variety of interactive formats. From large format “lunch-and-learns” to small team problem-solving competitions. Thematic events to “spin-the-topic-wheel” conversations. Subject-matter get-togethers to space travel fantasies. Each of these tactics has its relative strengths and purposes with regard to different flavors of collaboration. Some help promote relational depth or more trust. Some offer an amplification of exposure and network broadening. Some are made for kindred spirits and some for unlikely introductions.
COVID-19 obviously changed a lot in 2020 and even into 2021. Perceptions of safety have changed. Perhaps more significantly, long and widely held habits have been forcibly abandoned and the social inertia of yesterday disrupted. Truly a multi-variable set of equations. Sharing opinions on the future is certainly inviting – and even a great basis for collaborative conversations – but rather than setting about to pick this prediction or that of what the new “normal” will be, a better strategy is to use this time to understand even better how to best serve the needs of your customers that will still be looking to accomplish the same objectives in the future, regardless of the character and completeness with which the facilities will be occupied in the future.
As we meet the challenges of an uncertain future, we must do so with a full command of all the tactical arrows in our collaborative quiver. At Collaborative Real Estate, our mission is to create these “serendipitous collisions” in a researched-back, data-driven, thoughtful, and intentional way. We recognize the different flavors of collaboration desired by each type of community and offer bespoke programming to ensure we’re fostering curated environments to meet those specific needs.
Community is more than just geographical boundaries or sharing a sense of personal relatedness, it’s also about a fulfillment of needs and making a difference within the group. Contact us today to get started.