What is collaboration? | How to develop genuine online collaboration

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What is COLLABORATION

What is collaboration and how do we use it?

Dictionary.com says:

col·lab·o·ra·tion [kuh-lab-uh-rey-shuhn]

noun

1.the act or process of collaborating.
2. a product resulting from collaboration: This dictionary is a collaboration of many minds.
Origin:
1855–60;  < French  < Late Latin collabōrāt ( us ) (see collaborate) + French -ion -ion

col·lab·o·rate [kuh-lab-uh-reyt]

verb (used without object), col·lab·o·rat·ed, col·lab·o·rat·ing.

1.to work, one with another; cooperate, as on a literary work: They collaborated on a novel.
2. to cooperate, usually willingly, with an enemy nation, especially with an enemy occupying one’s country: He collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.
Origin:
1870–75;  < Late Latin collabōrātus  (past participle of collabōrāre ), equivalent to col- col-1  + labor  work + -ātus -ate1

My recent collaboration

About a year ago, Wayne Kessler wrote something on his LinkedIn Group Mental Health and Private Practice Marketing and Management.

It was something along the lines of:

“Anyone want to collaborate on something I’m working on?”

It was vague, intriguing, and stirred something in me. Now to set the stage, Practice of the Practice was less than a year old at this point and had around 1,000 people coming per month. I was only making a few hundred dollars a month off the website and I was looking for strategic ways to expand. I knew a podcast was coming, but wasn’t sure what else was in the future.

Wayne’s group now has over 11,000 members, at the time it was around 6,000 and growing exponentially. I wrote Wayne and he immediately responded. When people ask me, “What is collaboration?” it is usually with a tone of singularity. Whereas I see collaboration as an on-going process.

Here’s how our process went.

The process of collaboration

1. I had been involved in Wayne’s group and he knew my thoughts, writing, and perspective.

2. I had commented on conversations that Wayne had written about.

3. Wayne reached out to the community. Often very few people respond, so when I or someone else reaches out, chances are you’ll get in their inner circle!

4. We talked on the phone and dreamed about ideas. Part of the discussion was getting to know one another and make sure that the other was trust-worthy and not just trying to take the other’s money or use them.

5. We emailed ideas back and forth.

6. We participated in a few Google Hangouts with other folks.

7. We shared resources that we liked.

Then in December we started to really focus in on what we wanted to do. When we thought about “What is collaboration?” to us, it flowed from creating a member’s website together, an e-newsletter, and finally what we landed on.

The best collaborative Mastermind Group in the history of counseling

What is a Mastermind Group?

A Mastermind Group is a group of individuals that gather around a common purpose. It can be anything from online sales to improving a private practice. Very few Mastermind Groups, if any, focus only on private practice owners. We’ve surveyed owners and found that most of them are doing well but feel that they are missing essential steps to take it to the next level.

MASTERMIND Group private practice

 

What is your Mastermind Group focusing on?

We don’t want to waste anyone’s time so we’ve drilled into how to make this 8-week group as effective as possible. Here are the outcomes:

  • Create a network of entrepreneurial clinicians
  • Learn the latest strategies in private practice
  • Save yourself hours of wasted time
  • Increase your income quickly
  • Grow referral base so that you’re busy all the time
  • Create a plan and action steps for implementing your vision for your private practice

Who is this for?

  • Established practitioners that have been in business for 1 year or more and ready to grow
  • Those who are serious about investing the time and money to grow their business
  • Those with an Entrepreneurial spirit who thrive when given a challenge
  • Those willing to learn from a community of like-minded professionals
  • Those willing to help others by sharing their experiences
  • Those open to learning new technology to make their life easier
  • Those willing to do homework between sessions to maximize their effectiveness and results

 Wayne and Joe’s Future

As you can see, online collaboration takes time, effort, and trust. That is usually only built over time. In a few days, I’ll be letting you know exactly what we’ve created. I hope I’ve wet your pallet, since I’m so excited about offering this with one of the leaders in the fields of counseling, marketing, coaching, and business development!
counselor headshot

Joseph R. Sanok, MA, LLP, LPC, NCC has the #1 podcast for counselors in private practice. Also, he helps angry kids, frustrated parents, and distant couples at his private practice in Traverse City, MI at Mental Wellness Counseling. Also, he is the author of Mental Wellness Parenting | A remarkably simple approach to making parenting easier. To link to Joe’s Google+ .

Ask Joe a question about the Mastermind Group

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Counseling Private Practice tips Thanks for the photo Victor1558