Now, imagine instead, a different type of room ... a collaboration room. The room is surrounded with wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling white boards. There are flip charts supplied with sticky flip chart pads that can be posted on the white boards as they are created. The room is well supplied with colored pens for white boards and paper, as well as a supply of various sized and colored Post-ittm notes that can be used for brainstorming and storyboarding on the white boards.

Tables and chairs are smaller, allowing room to stand and walk and gather in groups. There is a phone, computer system, complete with creativity and organizational software and connection to the internal and external e-mail system and a printer. If not actually in the room, there is a copy machine close by.

Tip: If you want people to use creativity and organizational software, make it easy to learn how to use it. Put tutorials or training videos in the collaboration room.

Ponder Point: The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) states that American companies are spending a marginal 1.4% of their payroll on training. Japanese and European-owned companies based in the U.S. spend three to five times more on employee training than American-owned companies. Also, points out the ASTD study, training reaches only about 10% of the workforce. What does that say to and about the other 90%?

This room is organized to stimulate conversation and interaction. It's easy for people to grab a pen and begin to mindmap or sketch a model on the wall. They can instantly access information from other sources outside the room via the phone, the e-mail system or by searching the unlimited number of information databases accessible by modem.

This is a low-tech version of a collaboration room which could be developed by almost any organization. There are even more sophisticated versions being developed by corporations such as Xerox, GM, IBM, Apple, EDS and dozens of others. These rooms are generally equipped with computer stations for attendees and specialized, sophisticated software to facilitate brainstorming and idea manipulation.

In a study cited by Michael Schrage in No More Teams, Mastering the Dynamics of Creative Collaboration, IBM asserts that these "Decision Support Centers" generate over 50 percent in person-hour savings in meeting time and a 92 percent reduction in time required to complete a project. While these high-tech collaboration rooms are wonderful, a great deal of the collaborative benefit can be gained by simply using available resources.