Midnight Lunch: The 4 Phases of Team Collaboration Success from Thomas Edisons Lab

Praise for Midnight Lunch "Caldicott powerfully updates Edison′s collaboration process for use by organizations operating in today′s hyper–competitive global economy. If you′re looking for a way to accelerate growth through innovation, this book offers deep insights on why collaboration is the ′superskill′ that will drive success." —Verne Harnish, CEO, Gazelles; coauthor of The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time "Sarah has added an indispensable contribution to the success formula for business. Midnight Lunch magnifies one of Thomas Edison′s most treasured traits—collaboration. This incredible piece of work provides insightful, yet practical guidance for all who desire to innovate their way to success." —D. Keith Pigues, coauthor of Winning with Customers: A Playbook for B2B ;Dean, North Carolina Central University School of Business "Innovation is not about individual heroes with a vision, it is about collaboration. Edisonunderstood this well, and Caldicott is a skilled guide to how he really got so much done.Applying Edison′s four phases of collaboration will bring new power to your team efforts." —Chris Trimble, coauthor of Reverse Innovation and The Other Side of Innovation "Organizations today often fail to engage collaboration as a crucial part of their innovationprocess. Caldicott reminds us that Edison′s world–changing success stemmed in largemeasure from his collaborative culture. Midnight Lunch updates Edison′s approach for the twenty–first century, offering a practical guide for developing nimble collaborations." —Vijay Govindarajan, Earl C. Daum Professor of International Business,Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College; coauthor of Reverse Innovation "As in her earlier work, Sarah digs deep into her kinsman Thomas Edison′s actual practices. We hear so much talk about ′innovation.′ Well, here was the ultimate innovator, straddling fields and decades in his prodigious output. How did it really happen? Edison saw it as a team game. Sarah tells us how it was played." —Nigel Cameron, President, Center for Policy on Emerging Technologies " Midnight Lunch inspires action to orchestrate and groom multidisciplinary rock bands in an organization, not just individual rock stars, creating extraordinary results." —Manish Tangri, Associate Director, New Business, Intel Corporation "In an evermore complex and rapidly changing digital world, Caldicott effectively demonstrates the importance of collaboration as a crucial ′superskill′ necessary for rapid innovation today. Read Midnight Lunch . Engage your people. Build collaborative networks. And innovate!" —Maria Thompson, Director of Innovation Strategy, Motorola Solutions

Foreword Matthew Greeley xi Acknowledgments xv Introduction xvii Chapter 1 What Is True Collaboration? 1 Is It True Collaboration, or Is It a Team? 4 Team A versus Team B 5 Thomas Edison Mastered Collaboration as a Force for Success 12 Tracing Edison’s Collaboration Beliefs and Practices 17 Edison’s Four Phases of True Collaboration 18 True Collaboration Fosters a Growth Mindset: Balancing Learning and Performance 25 True Collaboration Is a Superskill That Builds a New Type of Knowledge Asset 32 Chapter 2 Why Is True Collaboration So Crucial Now? 35 Shift #1: The Rise in Complexity Due to Massive Generation of Data and Real–Time Data Synthesis 40 Shift #2: The Rise of the Metalogue as a Tool for Creating Purpose and Connection 47 Shift #3: The Need for Reskilling Workers in the Innovation Age 53 Chapter 3 Phase 1: Capacity—Creating the Foundations for Collaboration to Thrive 57 Part i, Phase 1—Capacity 60 Part ii, Phase 1—Capacity 72 True Collaboration Toolkit: Hands–On Exercises—Phase 1 89 Chapter 4 Phase 2: Context—How Context Accelerates Collaboration and Innovation 92 Part i, Phase 2: The Solo Meld 98 Part ii, Phase 2: Group Meld 119 True Collaboration Toolkit: Hands–On Exercises—Phase 2 146 Chapter 5 Phase 3: Coherence—Building Coherent Teams 150 Part i, Phase 3: Coherence 153 Part ii, Phase 3: Coherence 169 True Collaboration Toolkit: Hands–On Exercises—Phase 3 194 Chapter 6 Phase 4: Complexity—Forming Smart Layers and Developing Collective Intelligence 198 Part i, Phase 4: Complex Systems and Smart Layers 202 Part ii, Phase 4: Footprinting Captures Collective Intelligence 237 Chapter 7 True Collaboration: A Look into the Future 250 Notes 255 About the Author 271 Index 273

SARAH MILLER CALDICOTT is a great–grandniece of Thomas Edison, and a seasoned executive with years of hands–onexperience driving growth in new and existingbusinesses. Coauthor of Innovate Like Edison, a groundbreaking book on Thomas Edison′s innovation best practices, Sarah inspires audiences around the world through her keynote speeches and executive programs on how to integrate Edison′s Five Competencies of Innovation in organizations today. Sarah also advises leaders on how they can use Edison′s time–tested methods to create a culture of innovation, as well as accelerate the development of individual and team capabilities that propel collaboration success.