Entertainment - Written Tuesday, March 9, 2010 by Naumi Haque - 5 Comments

Lessons in collaboration from B.B. King’s

I am reminded today of the blues. Back in December, nGenera held our members conference in Memphis, TN, hosted by the good folks at FedEx. On the second evening, we were treated to dinner and at B.B. King’s Blues Club followed by the musical stylings of Preston Shannon’s Memphis Blues. What does this have to do with collaboration? A lot.

A blues or jazz band—or any ‘jam band’ for that matter—operates using many of the design principles we’d like to see from a collaborative enterprise. Unlike an orchestra, a band is much more fluid in their interpretation of the music. They are able to improvise on the spot, blend sounds, and often play to the mood of the audience. In other words, they innovate, create mash-ups, and are responsive to users.

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