Collaborate to Compete

Two former Walt Disney Imagineering leaders take on a major gap in team leadership: the lack of a reliable method for collaboration that consistently drives success, innovation, and problem-solving.

At Disney, Tricia Cerrone and Edward J. Van Luinen were tasked with co-leading a global high-stakes, multi-year initiative across 120+ disciplines. In the process of uniting creative, technical, and operational teams around shared outcomes, they developed and later refined a method of collaboration that consistently improved results.


Inspired by their success and wanting to help leaders in any industry, on any team, Cerrone and Van Luinen wrote Collaborate to Compete: A Roadmap to Stronger Leaders, Happier Teams, and Big Results. Their simple, human approach centers on five everyday behaviors: generosity, resourcefulness, co-creation, action, and gratitude, directed toward a noble purpose. The result is a clear, step-by-step way to build trust, unlock ideas, move faster, and sustain energy without new software, restructures, or big budgets. In Collaborate to Compete you will find:


- A repeatable method that fits any leadership style or team structure


- Stories and examples from Disney and beyond that show the method in action


- Immediate techniques for safer teams, better brainstorms, quicker pilots, and meaningful recognition


- A plan to scale collaboration and overcome common barriers like ego, silos, and burnout


The ripple effects of this method are powerful: greater innovation, faster decisions, healthier culture, organic professional growth, more resilient people, stronger ROI, and higher engagement. It's a practical approach leaders can apply in any business, right away, with lasting impact.