The late Nora Ephron was a famous writer of essays and screenplays. Working on a movie, Ephron said, is a collaborative effort.

"When you deliver a script, it's like delivering a great big beautiful plain pizza, the one with only cheese and tomatoes," Ephron said. "And then you give it to the director, and the director says, 'I love this pizza. I am willing to commit to this pizza. But I really think this pizza should have mushrooms on it.'

"And you say, 'Mushrooms! Of course! I meant to put mushrooms on the pizza! Why didn't I think of that? Let's put some on immediately.'"

The process continues, with more and more toppings being added. Sometimes it's great. Sometimes it's just the thing. And sometimes you kick yourself for allowing someone to put green peppers on it, because they overpowered everything else and ruined the pie.

That, Ephron said, is how collaboration works.

Director Steven Spielberg has a similar take on collaboration: "When I was a kid, there was no collaboration; it's you with a camera bossing your friends around. But as an adult, filmmaking is all about appreciating the talents of the people you surround yourself with and knowing you could never have made any of these films by yourself."

Collaboration is crucial for business.

For proof, look at Procter and Gamble in the early 2000s. The company's share price was down 50 percent. According to Rick Lash in the Ivey Business Journal, productivity had plateaued and the company's innovation success rate -- the percentage of new products that reached financial objectives -- was stuck around an "unsatisfactory 35 percent."

The company's new CEO at the time, A.G. Lafley, was determined to make P&G known as the company that "collaborates, inside and out, better than any company in the world." An analysis revealed that most of the company's most profitable innovations came through collaboration, either internally across business units or externally with outside researchers.

So Lafley established 20 cross-functional "communities of practice" within the company and said that half of P&G's products, ideas and technologies would come from external sources. Result: By 2008, P&G improved its research and development productivity by nearly 60 percent and more than doubled its innovation success rate while lowering the cost.

Collaboration is different from teamwork. According to an article from AAIM, the global community of information professionals, collaboration at the conceptual level involves:

Awareness: Becoming part of a working entity with shared purpose.

Motivation: Driving to gain consensus in problem solving or development.

Self-synchronization: Deciding as individuals when things need to happen.

Participation: Participating and expecting others to participate.

Mediation: Negotiating to find a middle point.

Reciprocity: Sharing and expecting sharing in return.

Reflection: Thinking and considering alternatives.

Engagement: Actively engaging with matters at all times.

There is power in collaboration. It is a great way for companies to work together to achieve success in unexpected ways. In today's fast-paced marketplace, it is crucial to develop mutually beneficial partnerships to leverage creativity, experience and resources. This allows companies and individuals to innovate much more quickly and create solutions to problems.

For example, Lego, the toy company that produces a variety of interlocking plastic building blocks, signed on with NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, to help familiarize children with real-world challenges in space.

Through the Space Act Agreement, Lego and NASA entered into a three-year collaboration to promote technology, engineering and mathematics, and to work on practical applications. In addition, astronauts used Lego models and toys in the International Space Station to demonstrate scientific concepts and perform experiments. NASA also provided Lego with ideas and educational materials for new toy collections. Will there be some future aerospace engineers from the legions of Lego fans as a result of this unlikely collaboration?

Mackay's Moral: If two heads are better than one, just imagine the collaborative power of two businesses.

First lady Michelle Obama has had the pleasure of attending many spectacular events, but I would venture to guess that opening the 14th Special Olympics World Games at the end of July had to rank with the most inspirational.

It wasn't because of the musical performances, fireworks, or even the flaming torch that was carried from Greece. It was all about the athletes.

Almost 50 years after Eunice Kennedy Shriver decided to take her backyard competitions to an international level, the games were the largest gathering of athletes in Los Angeles since the 1984 Summer Olympics.

The first Special Olympics were held in 1968 in Chicago, with about 1,000 athletes and about 100 people in the stands. For the Los Angeles event, nearly 7,000 athletes representing 177 countries participated in tennis, soccer, swimming, equestrian events, weight-lifting and even a triathlon, to name a few. Competition is open to athletes 8 years and older who have intellectual disabilities that result in limitations in cognitive functions or other skills. To qualify for the world games, athletes must compete in sanctioned regional competitions.

Los Angeles World Games president and CEO Pat McClenahan, himself an Emmy-award-winning sports producer, understands how the power of television could bring the group's message and mission to a world audience. He found a willing partner in ESPN. "This was an unprecedented TV deal that was all about finding a broadcast partner who understood the goal -- get the stories of these athletes in front of as many eyeballs as possible," he said at a press event. "And once people see the courage and determination and joy, they're all inspired."

I hope you had the opportunity to watch the nightly highlight reels. They showed sports in their purest form.

Kate Jackson, the head of production for daily shows at ESPN, hired Dustin Plunkett, a four-time Special Olympics World Games athlete, as a reporter for the games. His job description was later upgraded to analyst.

Plunkett is an ambassador for the Games and on the World Games 2015 board of directors. His personal story is an inspiration in itself. Born with an intellectual disability and a cleft palate that affected his speech, he came from an unstable home life. He competed in a number of sports and won awards. And while many athletes will say sports made a big difference their lives, Dustin can say that the Special Olympics literally saved his life.

Ten years ago he was able to take part in the Healthy Athletes program, which offers a seven-point checkup. A volunteer dentist discovered that he had gum cancer and helped treat the disease.

Many of the inspirational stories will not even be related to sports. Kimberly Jasmine Guillen, who goes by "Kimpossible," is a 16-year-old who has won 69 medals competing in bowling and track and field. "I thought I was joining a team, but instead I realized that I joined a family," she said at the same press event. "Every athlete is like a brother or sister to me. Ever since I joined Special Olympics, I never want to give up on anything."

McClenahan hopes this message will resonate: "When people come in contact with our athletes or see our athletes perform, their perceptions change drastically. The greatest thing we can do for those with intellectual disabilities is to change the hearts and minds of people without intellectual disabilities so that kids befriend them in school, employers realize their great value and hire them for jobs -- those real life-changing things."

Local Special Olympics organizations are always looking for help. If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity that is both inspiring and rewarding, I highly recommend it.

Mackay's Moral: I can't improve on the Special Olympics oath, "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."

I am, first and foremost, and will always be, an envelope salesman. My business card says so. But more people probably know me as an author and speaker -- which evolved from my sales career. Who would have thought?

Regardless of the title on your business card, everyone is a salesperson whether you want to admit it or not. Why? Because from the time you get up in the morning until the time you go to bed at night, you are continually communicating, negotiating, persuading, influencing and selling ideas.

When you can get up on your feet and talk extemporaneously on a lot of subjects, it instills confidence, develops poise and breeds conviction. You become more convincing in your meetings and your encounters. And you become a better leader, manager and salesperson.

I never pass up an opportunity to promote Toastmasters International, which started in 1924 and today has more than 300,000 members in 126 countries and nearly 15,000 clubs. Toastmasters changed my life.

Another organization that can dramatically change your life is Dale Carnegie Training.

I am also a proud graduate of Dale Carnegie.

The three most important keys on giving a good speech are: 1) Room size. 2) Room size. 3) Room size. You want the excitement and chemistry of a standing-room-only, bumper-to-bumper crowd. Extra space is a killer. Also try to avoid rooms with high ceilings.

Have the first row set very close to the stage. Too much space between the speaker and the first row can destroy the connection with the audience.

Studies show people remember more and laugh more in bright areas. Turn the lights up full blast, unless you are showing overheads.

Practice, practice, practice. Know your stuff. Don't ever give another speech without it being entertaining as well as educational.

Never, never, never end your program with a question- and-answer session. You cannot control the agenda or the quality of the questions. Start the Q & A five minutes before the end of your talk, and then end with an awesome story.

Find out who the group's last three to five speakers were and how they were received. Ask why they were successful or why they failed.

Contact the Chamber of Commerce of any city you are to speak in. They will give you loads of information to familiarize you with the local surroundings and help you personalize your remarks.

Never mispronounce a person's name. If you're not sure, check with the sponsor. Then double-check.

Stick to your allotted time and don't go over it.

If you don't have a smashing "opener" and "closer," go back to the drawing board. Don't step up to the microphone until you do.

And finally, number 35 on the list: Debrief yourself within 24 hours of a speech, and take 10 minutes to write down what you could do better next time. Try something new every time you speak and you'll never become stale.

Above all, you must know your audience. Here's a slightly risque story that illustrates my point: Harold calls Al and tells him, "I have a problem. My guest speaker for the Rotary meeting just canceled. Might you be able to fill in?" Al says he will be happy to.

Harold says, "What might you talk about?"

Al says, "Oh I don't know ... I'll probably talk about sex."

The next day Al gives his speech and gets a standing ovation. Al goes home and tells his wife that the speech went well.

His wife asks, "What did you talk about?"

Now Al knows his wife doesn't think he knows anything about sex, so Al says, "skiing."

"Oh," she says, "I see, skiing."

The next day Al's wife is at the supermarket and runs into Harold's wife. And Harold's wife says, "I heard your husband gave a great speech at Rotary. He must be terrific."

And Al's wife says, "I don't understand. He has only done it once and his hat blew off."

Mackay's Moral: A public speaker should stand up to be seen, speak up to be heard and shut up to be appreciated.

(Harvey Mackay is the author of the New York Times best-seller "Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive." He can be reached through his website, www.harveymackay.com, by emailing harvey@mackay.com or by writing him at MackayMitchell Envelope Co., 2100 Elm St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414.)