The future of work is not just a buzzword, a hashtag, or a concept relevant to disruptive innovation in the education or geopolitical arenas. The nature of the workplace and the psychological and intellectual makeup of its workforce will undergo real changes in the coming years. It is therefore time to rethink best practices and both the process and the blueprint which showcase them. Outdated business models and mindsets are actually hindering corporate teams in terms of productivity, efficiency, and relevance. Machine learning is rendering many products and services obsolete. The sharing economy is recruiting and championing people who excel at collaboration and communication; two “soft skills” not traditionally taught in school classrooms, but certainly on school playgrounds. Due to the changing business landscape, the rules of engagement and points of entry need to be reassessed. The politics of the “playground” are increasingly complex and need to be redefined for global impact and better outcomes. The art and architecture of collaboration needs to be understood and mastered. The NICE Initiative can help.

1. NICE Initiative for Female Entrepreneurship: White Paper 6
By Penina Rybak MA/CCC-SLP, TSHH
Founder/CEO Socially Speaking LLC
Founder: The NICE Initiative
The Art and Architecture of Collaboration: A Framework
Challenge:
The future of work is not just a buzzword, a hashtag, or a concept relevant to disruptive
innovation in the education or geopolitical arenas. The nature of the workplace and the
psychological and intellectual makeup of its workforce will undergo real changes in the
coming years due to the:
• Increase of women in the workforce, including management and CEO positions
• Hiring of different generations working together; some for the first time
• Convergence of the Technology and Entrepreneurial Revolutions sweeping the globe
It is therefore time to rethink best practices and both the process and the blueprint
which showcase them. Outdated business models and mindsets are actually hindering
corporate teams in terms of productivity, efficiency, and relevance. Machine learning is
rendering many products and services obsolete. The sharing economy is recruiting and
championing people who excel at collaboration and communication; two “soft skills” not
traditionally taught in school classrooms, but certainly on school playgrounds.
Due to the changing business landscape, the rules of engagement and points of entry
need to be reassessed. The politics of the “playground” are increasingly complex and
need to be redefined for global impact and better outcomes. The art and architecture of
collaboration needs to be understood and mastered. The NICE Initiative can help.
Thought Leadership:
What can we do to work smarter, not harder? Why do we need to methodically connect
the “dots” between achievement and mastery of the goals we set for ourselves?
When does teamwork actually facilitate innovation and leadership? Where do we
channel our resources? Who needs to work together? How do people actually work
together to promote real change?
The catalyst for lasting, widespread change that sustains innovation is education. It’s
what spurs the competitive, solitary, sometimes grueling nature of work. It’s what gives
communication its wings to be free, and be more in touch with humanity. It’s what
imbues the DNA of any endeavor, and what nurtures its creative transformation. The
architecture of collaboration begins with practically determining starting points for
© 2015 Penina Pearl Rybak, Socially Speaking LLC, All Rights Reserved

2. remediation of a problem. This is accomplished by implementing a 5 step problem
solving hierarchy which seeks to proactively leverage “group think” while targeting the
individual i.e. different people’s skills sets and social intelligence to complete tasks. The
architecture of collaboration is approached from a project management perspective. The
artistry of collaboration is approached from a talent management perspective. Together,
both can harness the true power of balancing technology with humanity to create
synergy, more effective workflows, and resource allocation and management. This
results in the collective inculcating of a unique mindset which fosters leadership,
prevention and recovery, and ultimately change.
Recommendations:
It’s time to reconsider our blueprint and craft a new one. It’s time to update best
practices which align with the people and the planet, not just forecasted revenue. To
create a self sustaining legacy and business model for the sharing economy, we need to
reconfigure our trajectory and the steps along the way. We can help teams develop
strategies to sustain a competitive advantage with regard to networking, customer
retention, and profit margins. These strategies are taught within this framework:
NICE Initiative Framework for Collaboration:
1. Education
• Goals
• Strategy
2. Talent Management
• Personal Branding
• Bridging
• Networking
3. Mentorship
• Mentorship
• Reverse Mentorship
4. Quality Control (Troubleshooting)
• Communication
• Active Process
• Prevention (Instead of Crisis Intervention)
☞ Research
☞ Backup & Recovery
© 2015 Penina Pearl Rybak, Socially Speaking LLC, All Rights Reserved

3. Conclusion:
The transition from Me>We is a necessity, not a luxury in the shared economy. Today's
workplace demands increased collaboration and transparency; especially in our globally
connected, socially driven culture. We provide the blueprint for the implementation of
better collaboration. One which transcends cultural barriers, gains and retains
customer loyalty, and add value. We provided you now with a prototype, a framework
to follow in terms of better balancing artistry and architecture, and humanity and
technology.
The NICE Call to Action: Transitioning From Me>We
I- What’s the future of leadership in the iEra? Today's best practices includes honing
my own skill set while facilitating productivity for your colleagues. The NICE Reboot
provides a blueprint for both, including rebooting my mindset to become a better
collaborator by connecting the dots re: catalysts for growth.
We- What's The NICE Mindset? We are all works in progress, and having that
mindset helps us fill in gaps by seeking out collaboration, thereby changing the
trajectory of our actions re: balancing humanity and technology.
Us- What are the implications of having The NICE Mindset?
1. Having this mindset enables us to increase our collaboration through diversified
learning experiences through networking and group problem solving.
2. Having this mindset enables us to reduce our tendency to have silos and be
perfectionists.
Join the Journey for Change! What do you want to collaborate on?
Penina Rybak is a purpose driven, creative educator and thought leader who believes that we are
all leaders in the making and agents of change. This is why she launched her company Socially
Speaking LLC in 2010, her Socially Speaking™ iPad App in 2012, and wrote her business book
in 2014, "The NICE Reboot: A Guide to Becoming a Better Female Entrepreneur". Penina gives
people the gift of time. Her practical and philosophical toolbox provides different people
different ways to harness time, to better balance humanity and technology. Penina is a dynamic,
insightful, humorous, entertaining speaker and writer, who takes abstract ideas and makes them
concrete. She connects the "dots" between productivity vs. being busy, and between education
and entrepreneurship, using an eclectic, sometimes non-linear, but always collaborative
approach. Penina is a pioneer in personal growth and professional development for the iEra.
Learn more about her work at her websites: www.sociallyspeakingLLC.com &
www.niceinitiative.com, and on Twitter: @PopGoesPenina.
© 2015 Penina Pearl Rybak, Socially Speaking LLC, All Rights Reserved