Collaborative efforts

November 6, 2009

For years, I’ve been in charge of the marketing for a charity golf tournament. The event has raised nearly $2Million dollars in 24 years and it’s been a struggle every step of the way. It’s not that fundraising is supposed to be easy, but doing work with a bunch of people is always a challenge.

What brought this to mind was a question I posed last night to Scott Berkun at an event in Boston. I wanted to know the best way to set up a collaborative presentation plan for a team of presenters.

To be clearer, I am the point person on the social media training modules for a national journalism organization. I get to create the slide deck and the presentation based on my decade using social media. Then, when the modules are approved, I’ll be the main trainer for newsrooms all across the country.

If a paper in Hawaii needs me, I’ll suck it up and go train them.

If a TV station in Bangor, ME needs me, I’ll hop in the car and jet into the backwoods.

But there will be times when demand outpaces supply and other professionals will have to give my presentation. In effect, they’ll have to train people using a module that has been tailored to my style of speaking, my teaching methods and my background.

Berkun cringed when I outlined the scenario and offered some ways to mitigate the possibility of disaster. He said if I were flexible enough to allow other presenters to use their own experiences, substitute some of their own slides, and modify the modules to their teaching styles, we’d all be winners.

What I’d like to know is if you’re currently doing something that requires teamwork and collaboration, and how you’re managing the outcomes.

Communication is one of life’s biggest challenges for many people, so let me know how you’ve tackled that challenge and won. Put your comments right here on this post. Thanks!

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