Hackathons, where developers meet up to do some collaborative programming, are a great venue for problem-solving and creativity. They give employees the potential to get ideas out there that could pay off big, work the bugs out of new technology, and increase morale—and, best of all, they can be held anywhere.

Using open source software is all the rage these days, and for good reason. Often teams don’t have the budget to purchase commercial tools, and without an open source solution, their productivity suffers. But open source is not a panacea. There are some challenges that can hit you hard if you aren’t careful.

While teams are composed of individuals, all of whom solve problems and make decisions, people on consistently successful teams understand that they can be more effective when the focus is on the team, not the individual. Making the best decisions collectively delivers the most value to customers in the long run.