It’s interesting that as I was editing this podcast interview about collaboration, a fabulous New York Times piece ran about the Rise of the New Groupthink. It was written by Susan Cain, whose book, “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking” is about to be published. In her NYT piece, Susan expresses concern about the push in corporate environments to have open work spaces and a team-centric approach to innovation. She makes the point that solitude often sparks creativity, and groupthink trends don’t provide much space for solitude.

Today’s conversation serves as another perspective, this time looking through the lens of entrepreneurship. Rather than being forced into groupthink situations, introvert entrepreneurs often experience the opposite challenge of isolation, or of too much time alone. The middle ground between working in solitude and working in “all teams, all the time,” is strategic collaboration. My podcast guests, Monique MacKinnon and Patricia Weber, are examples of successful and strategic collaboration in action.

Together, we talk about the many faces of collaboration and what strengths introverts bring to the relationship. Insights shared include:

• How partnerships can increase your marketability and creativity
• What to look for (and look out for) when choosing a business collaborator
• Why collaboration is like dating (and doesn’t have to lead to marriage)
• Anticipating the icky stuff and how to handle it when it comes up
• The benefits of strategic collaboration for introverts

 Bonus info! For a complete description and ordering information of MacKinnon and Weber’s eBook series, “The Complete Guide to Successful Collaborations,” visit http://bit.ly/CollaborationeBooks Or, if you have a Kindle, go to http://amzn.to/CollabGuideKindle  After your Kindle order send e-mail to questions@entrepreneurialtelesummits.com with that order number for an mp3 Bonus.

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