A Message from the authors:  What this book is about

This second edition of Collaboration, Teamwork, and Networking contains all the material of our original book, plus insights we gleaned from our experiences in the trenches.

The Success-Networking process in Collaboration, Teamwork, and Networking  is built on the framework of Cooperative Economics, which is not a new concept. However, we expand the concept to include social systems, and suggest a more robust participation in the political process.  The book is aimed at providing a snapshot of how the existing economic, political, and social systems favor the status quo. We tried to paint a word picture of what the status quo looks and feels like in many of our nation’s urban communities. Our aim is to show that inactivity and denial are not options.  The book offers a framework for people and organizations to be proactive in combining their resources to create businesses that produce jobs and other services that help communities to thrive.

This second edition provides plain talk about what really happens when you introduce a new vision of what could be, one that is readily attainable.  It addresses how fear of change, even change for the better, can hold people hostage. This fear of change is beyond economic status, beyond gender. It is a human condition.  However, it can be overcome.  In this book we offer insights on how to overcome the fear that keeps us locked in situations that are not good for us, nor are they good for our families and communities.

Our ongoing collaboration to write about how we can work together to achieve what we cannot achieve as a single entity represents an exercise in exactly what we write about in the book.  We bring different skill sets, experiences, and perspectives to the project.  One of us is rooted in a biblical, spiritual, and activist perspective; the other from a people, process and systems environment.  However, we both agree on a vision for change, a need for change, and that people are more than up to the task of making change happen.  We also agree that mind, body, and spirit must be integrated in order for positive, sustainable change to happen. We both believe that all things are possible through Christ who strengthens us.

Since our first book was released, the world we predicted has become reality. The need for change is more compelling than ever.   Economic circumstances and their global impact have demonstrated that is no longer wise or safe to be dependent upon “somebody else” for jobs, wealth, political influence, or desirable communities in which to live.  The time is right now to initiate practices based on shared vision, goals and wealth-building.

We saw firsthand the impact of resistance to change, and the issue of trust.

Change is hard.  The familiar is comforting, even when uncomfortable.  If one is advocating change, the benefits of change must clearly outweigh the loss of comfort factor. Those benefits must be seen in vivid color, and understood on a visceral level.

Although we already knew theoretically that trust must be earned, our experiences demonstrated that it’s more complicated than that.  Therefore, in this issue we address practical ways to begin and nurture environments conducive to trust.

Our forefathers had a more compelling impetus for working together than our generation.  It was clear to them that life and liberty were at stake. Now, that clarity of understanding is muddied. We perceive that there is a less compelling case for working together because there is an illusion of safety.  Our perception is, sadly, flawed.  Today, just as it was for our forefathers, it is critical that we find common ground around which we can unite.  Our very lives depend on it.

Sadly, we must admit that this 2^nd edition of Collaboration, Teamwork, and Networking only scratches the surface of issues that should compel change, and actions needed to facilitate that change. However, we must begin somewhere.  That somewhere has already been initiated by others, and we are only a small part of the process. What we do know is the process we recommend is based upon an age-old practice or working together to achieve a common vision that has, unfortunately, fallen by the wayside over decades.  We’ve taken that practice – collaboration, teamwork, and networking – and through focus and systems created a new dynamic that addresses and solves many 21st Century issues that threaten our security and survival.

Enjoy and be Blessed!