Positive Power in SharePoint

Can positive thinking influence your next SharePoint project? Do you think in I CAN or I CAN’T when you approach projects with SharePoint? This subtle change in your thought process can help produce successful collaboration projects. I’ve experienced this directly.

When a representative of a client told me recently that the collaboration site he was working on depended on a custom code workaround, I asked why he felt that way. The answer: “Because SharePoint CAN’T DO THAT.” Ultimately, approaching a project that way can only result in a failure. In this case, it was setting up for failure to use SharePoint to facilitate the collaboration goals. However, a quick turnaround to a positive frame of mind saved the project.

Before thinking about what SharePoint can do, the technical lead had the collaboration project designers going in circles for months. He was looking for WORKAROUNDS to what he saw as LIMITS of SharePoint. What he found was a bunch of dead ends. When the idea generators were asked to explain their collaboration vision, the experienced, positive SharePoint architect sees only the potential in their collaboration platform of choice. Mapping the vision to the capabilities of the platform out of the box lead to quick, easy wins.

In the end, this project was a success. Compiling many wins lead to a successful collaboration area that benefits a large group of multinational collaborators from many organizations.