Ok, I haven’t heard of this book until now, but it sounds most interesting – Teaching an Anthill to Fetch: Developing Collaborative Intelligence @ Work. The book is profiled in the BusinessWeek.com article Building a Better Team. From the author:

Teaching an Anthill to Fetch is a metaphor for the challenge of creating a significant level of collaborative intelligence in a system. It applies equally whether it is a team, a business, or an entire organization. The title also poses a question: Is it possible to create change at a micro level that will have s(sic) predictable large-scale effects? In my opinion it is.

I think he is on to something here with the developing Gen Y workforce. They are networked like an anthill – it is an apt metaphor. Here is the description from the article:

Here are some of the most important characteristics of a team with high CQ:

€¢ Is able to share the stress and strain evenly throughout the team.

€¢ Achieves its objectives more through people and less through politics.

€¢ Has a strong network of connection and support between its members. This accelerates learning, enabling the team’s reactions to be rapid and responsive to challenges.

€¢ Looks after its own: Individuals are not left to fend for themselves, and staff retention is high because people feel a strong sense of belonging.

€¢ Is well connected with other teams and with corporate objectives. Like a healthy organ in the body, it knows what its function is and serves the greater good through rough times and smooth.

€¢ Replenishes itself, growing its members, and is constantly learning to better adapt to its environment.

€¢ Displays a strong sense of meaningful participation, which the members are all nourished by.

I’m intrigued by CQ in that it is not common for salespeople to be highly collaborative. The lone wolf mentality still dominates the sales world, but I think that may be changing to some degree. The Rock Star posted on this topic back in July and I think this article goes to the next level of change occurring in the workplace. I believe Gen Y is the driver behind that change.

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