Pular conteúdo

If you contribute you can stay.

If you contribute you can stay.

Adaptability is the cornerstone of humanity’s resilience, a quiet genius that has enabled us to thrive in an unpredictable world. From the earliest days of hunting and gathering, we have faced challenges too significant for any individual to overcome alone. Our survival depended not on brute strength or sheer will but on something far more profound: collaboration. It was through the pooling of skills, the sharing of knowledge, and the alignment of efforts that we found ways to conquer what once seemed insurmountable.

This transformative yet elusive alchemy of human interaction is deeply intertwined with our nature as humans but paradoxically arises from our limitations. Despite our cleverness, biologically, we are not the fastest, strongest, or fiercest species. Yet, against all odds, we have flourished in nearly every corner of the planet. The secret lies in our ability to connect and contribute to something larger than ourselves. Collaboration is not just a tool for success, it is a survival mechanism baked in our evolutionary DNA, turning individual weaknesses into collective strengths.

The Anatomy of Collaboration.

But collaboration doesn’t happen by chance. It requires two essential elements: connection and contribution, each containing a different type of energy. Connection is the energy that fuels shared ideas, excitement, and the joy of working together. Contribution, on the other hand, is the substance, in the form of knowledge, skills, and mindset that each person brings to the table. On their own, these elements fall short: connection without contribution is pleasant but aimless, while contribution without connection is isolating and uninspired. True collaboration emerges only when these two dimensions intertwine seamlessly.

Viola Davis, one of the most celebrated actors of our time, explains this beautifully (and of course, there is random in the machine)

“I have a process…hopefully other people do, too….but one of the things that I do when I collaborate is, whatever the [other] actor gives me, I use.”

The beauty of adapting to what the other brings changes everything in the equation and makes me remember Shakespeare's " Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

Then, there is geometry behind the collaboration.

If I were to visualize this process, it would look like a T. The vertical dimension represents depth, our contribution of knowledge, skills, and expertise. The horizontal dimension represents breadth, the openness, energy, and shared flow that drive connection. It is at the intersection of these two dimensions that collaboration thrives, much like the relationship between mass and energy in physics: mass gives purpose to energy, and energy animates mass. Together, they create something greater than the sum of their parts.

The mantra of collaboration.

This leads us to a guiding mantra for collaboration: “If you contribute, you can stay.” This phrase encapsulates a way of life where adaptability and collaboration go hand in hand. Contribution here is not transactional but a deeply held value that binds individual ownership with collective responsibility. It creates an ecosystem where value flourishes because each person plays an active role in shaping and sustaining the whole. It is the glue binding collective responsibility with individual ownership, creating an ecosystem where value flourishes as a result.

IYI: the physics of collaboration.

A temporary departure from the main subject, worth exploring.

There’s an idea I love that comes from the friendship between Einstein and Planck. Their relationship wasn’t just about physics; it was also about music. Einstein played the violin, Planck the piano, and their harmonies extended beyond their instruments into their scientific work. Einstein’s theory of relativity united mass (contribution) and energy (connection), while Planck’s work linked mass (contribution) and frequency (a clear wink to agile as an enabler of adaptability).


Planck and Einstein fun night out.


Corollary.

At its core, collaboration isn’t just a tool for getting things done. It’s a way of being—a pathway to possibilities that brings out the best in us and those we work with. When you have mass, energy, and frequency, then connection and contribution meet .. and our adaptability possibilities are limitless.

Benito Berretta
Benito Berretta

Managing Director of Hyper Island Americas, Speaker & Facilitator

If you contribute you can stay.

O carrinho está vazio