One of my favorite lessons ever learned from Sesame Street is: everything is better when you share. It’s true. Food tastes better, laughter becomes louder, ideas expand, and life is richer.
Apparently, Deanna Zandt learned the same lesson. She expresses it so elegantly in this presentation from Ignite NYC, in which she asks, “What would Kermit do?”—and comes up with some pretty profound answers.
Shared stories
Shared dreams
Authenticity
Empathy
Trust
Community
These are the lifeblood of social networks; I believe they will be the lifeblood of new, emerging organizations and new ways of working. In my consulting practice, I wanted to move away from working in isolation toward a community of collaboration. Turns out there are others who share this vision, others who share the belief that there’s strength in aggregation of difference—different skill sets, different ways of thinking. There is a richness in difference, and a staleness in sameness.
The LightBox Collaborative is comprised of entrepreneurs working together because we believe in the power of teams and in producing better results. My initial idea for this venture was to create an anti-agency. I’ve told my colleagues that if I ever use the terms “PR firm” or “expert” they have license to shoot me. Because those are isolating ideas—and I came here to collaborate.
We learned everything we needed to know from the Muppets. At the LightBox Collaborative we play well with others. In fact, we play better with others.