14. 14
questions, participants in a collaboration will generate all the components they need to develop a
strategy.
The four questions:
• What could we do?
• What should we do?
• What will we do?
• What’s our 30/30?
"What could we do?" The first question focuses participants on the tangible and intangible
assets that are embedded in their network. These assets might be facilities, money, people,
experience, knowledge or passions. In exploring “What could we do?” participants first listen to each
other and learn about the assets that
could form the basis of a new
collaboration. In this way, they begin to
develop a mental map of the assets within
their emerging network.
Simply listing assets is not enough,
however. Opportunities emerge when
participants link these assets across
organizational and political boundaries.
So, for example, when regional leaders
link a research university with a
community college, new opportunities emerge to expand career pathways. When a chamber of
commerce links to a library, regional leaders can start to see new ways to expand the support provided
to small business entrepreneurs. When hospitals link to primary and secondary schools, new