Nature’s answers to collaborationLearnings from gardening, botany, landscaping and nature itself.

Sami Poikonen

November 8th 2012

Aarhus

About me

Currently

Enterprise & Information Architect, CEO of Emergem, Founded 09/2012

Previously

Enterprise Architect, Enterprise Content management, Nokia

Senior SharePoint Consultant

Consultant, ECM solution architect, J2EE Architect

About me

Hobbies:

Dendrology

the scientific study of trees and woody plants,

especially their taxonomy

Gardening & Landscaping• 1 hectare of own land

• Over 200 species

• Over 40 species of maple (Acer sp.)

• USDA Z3

I spent several months looking for nature's

answer to the problem – J. B. Cox

-> C shape of jaws

-> Oregon #10 saw chain

-> Oregon Saw Chain

Manufacturing Corporation was

founded in 1947C

Collaboration in NatureSymbiosis

Scope of Symbiosis

OrganismOrganism

• Endosymbiosis

← Exosymbiosis

Scope of Collaboration

OrganizationOrganization

• Intra-collaboration

← Inter-collaboration

Types of Symbiosis

Host suffers Host benefitsNo

n-m

utu

al

Mu

tua

l

• Service-service

• Service-resourse

Pollunation

• resourse-resourse

mycorrhiza

Paratism Commensalism mutualism

• Phoresy

(transportation)

• Inquilinism (housing)

Orchids• Metabiosis

(prepares environment)• Ectoparasites (on surface)

Mites• Endoparasites (inside)

Worms, bacteria, virus

• Social parasites

Cockoo

• Cheating

Q: Where would you place email collaborators?

Types of Collaboration

1. Networking

2. Coordination

3. Cooperation

4. Resourse Sharing

5. Collaboration

Previously identified goal,

synchronization of activities and

responsibilities

Voluntary arrangement in which 2 or more entities engage in mutual beneficial exchange instead competing.

Not fully shared risks, responsibilities and rewards.

Knowledge, talents, skills,

information, risks, resources, capital;

shared for common goal

Informal and noncommittal, weak links

Synergestic, Symbiotic relation, where 2 or more entities working tohether to create something much greater than they could have come to on their own

What is the world’s largest living

creature?

Q: Do you aim for clonal unity of diverse

ecosystem?

Pando

- Single male aspen clonal colony

connected by roots

- 43 hectares (106 acres) and

has around 47,000 stems

- 80 000 years old

- Fishlake National Forest, Utah, USA

Great Barrier Reef

- 2900 reefs, 2600 km, 344000 m2

- Thousands species

- Ecosystem

- Origin dates back 600 000 years

- Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland,

Australia

Plants thrive in right soil and

right amount of light

◯

◑

Direct sun light

Full sun > 6 h

Partial shade, 3-6 h

Shade < 3h

Collaboration

Compliance

Q: Individual personal preferences?

When different things matter

What do you do with Information?

Drain?

Fountain?

Q: If Sharing is caring, do you really care?

Total Costs of a Street Tree

• Just plant seed, rain

waters it and it grows on

its own.

• Cost ~ 0

Q: What really is cost of collaboration?

How about not collaborating?

Real TCO of a street tree:

2500€/tree

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet."

• Weed: A plant considered undesirable,

unattractive, or troublesome, especially one

growing where it is not wanted, as in a garden

• If it spreads and becomes succesfull, It is in

danger becoming a weed.

Rosa rugosa invading beaches of Finland

Q: What if collaboration is not valued?

“Let a thousand flowers bloom”

• Try to understand scopes and types of collaboration you are promoting– If individual motivation is missing, it won’t fly

• Individual motivations and preferences– Focus on early and easy adopters, don’t force on others

• Try to get costs and what ever you expect in return right

• Be prepared, not everyone sees value in collaboration– If you are not able to show the value, easier it is to neglect

Good places to visit

Mustila Arboretum, Finland; www.mustila.fi

The Arboretum in Hørsholm, Denmark

Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, UK

USNA, US National Arboretum, Washington DC

Strybing Arboretum, San Francisco

Botanical Gardens all over the world

Want to hear

more?

http://www.linkedin.com/company/emergem

http://fi.linkedin.com/pub/sami-poikonen/0/38/555

@PoikonenSami

@EmergemCO

sami.poikonen@emergem.fi

+358 44 2112 130

Ylistönmäentie 24, 40500 Jyväskylä, Finland

Wolffintie 36, 65200 Vaasa, Finland