When I was at high school I played rugby, think football (American) without the padding. My coach was also my physics teacher and he used to talk about meeting opposition with greater momentum. He explained that when two objects traveling toward each other collided, the one with the greatest momentum would overcome the resistance and pass through. Thirty five years later I realize he could just as easily have been talking about intention. That is, the body with the greatest intention will overcome it’s opposition. Intention has been quite a hot topic lately. Wayne Dyers book ‘The Power of Intention’ and his series of talks on that subject on PBS are one example. The journalist-turned author Lynn McTaggart has also written a fascinating book(‘The Intention Experiment’) about the scientific research that has been carried out on the effect intention can have.

One of the most interesting aspects for me is what effect group intention could have on the level of collaboration that is achieved. Like the physical force of momentum, a team or group will be able to pass through any opposition if it has sufficient intention. Collaborative intelligence (CQ) is a great way to marshall intention. The more closely a team or group can collaborate, the more it can share and coordinate it’s collective intention.