213,000,000: that’s the estimated number of companies in the world. Within each of these companies are intricate systems of collaboration. In recent times, many have changed to incorporate hybrid schedules and cultural shifts. The forms collaboration takes are rarely uniform… both for us, and those we share this planet with. Yet from the animal kingdom to plant life, and from the onset of the computer revolution to the modern workplace, one thing remains certain: good teamwork drives good work. And there are surprising keys to what makes that happen, across life forms and innovations.
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Working together, across time and species
Collaboration is a constant. The forms it takes, however, can surprise.
Bison, for example, are exceptionally flexible collaborators. Researchers have observed that any member of the herd can decide where the group moves next. If an individual takes at least twenty steps without lowering its head, it signals its intention to move — and if enough follow, the herd will follow that individual to a new location. Bison collaborate through a combination of flexible leadership and consensus, and do so communicating entirely with their feet.
When it comes to consensus, though, little in the natural world can beat Pando. Consisting of 47,000 quaking aspen trees in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, Pando is a single organism connected through a shared root system. The trees shed leaves and change color in unison.
When it comes to synchronizing changes, humankind has developed its own ways to collaborate. Within these are notable stories of challenge and resilience. A good example lies in the early spread of telephone technology, with hand-operated exchanges. The largest such phone exchange was the Stockholms Allmänna Telefonaktiebolag (SAT) in Stockholm, Sweden, built in 1887 to service 8,500 lines. The lines within the main exchange hall alone measured over 37 miles in length — all of which was operated manually!
The age of computing has since simplified and supercharged collaboration advancements. Some of these advancements were so brand-new that it was impossible to find an existing comparison. Take the first spreadsheet software, which an early source described as “a magic sheet of paper that can perform calculations and recalculations.” Software programs have increased in power, and inspired countless productivity breakthroughs, in the years since.
Today, Slack pushes workplace culture forward through the transformative flexibility of their digital headquarters — a connected and inclusive workplace for everyone to be a part of and contribute to, regardless of location. Slack is organized via channels, grouping people and topics together and leading to up to 26% faster decision-making.* Automation in Slack saves teams over a quarter of their time. On the whole, up to 91% of businesses using Slack achieved a positive return on investment within ten months or less.* For us on the human side of things, Slack makes collaborating easier than it’s ever been.
*Stats in this article, including videos, are based on average customer savings. FY23 Customer Success Metrics, Salesforce, survey of 1,742 Slack customers, July 2022.