CB.2:4.2 - Find the contributions needed on each side

Start from the result and work backward to the people, material and conditions that could produce it. For a help request, this normally means a person with a real question and someone with relevant competence, experience or access. For a joint activity, identify the different contributions that make it worthwhile.

Approach potential participants with a specific reason their contribution could matter. Explain the purpose, requested preparation, likely effort, available support and limits. Ask whether they want to participate under those conditions. Being well known, holding a title or appearing on a member list does not establish willingness or suitability for this exchange.

Obtain enough information to make a defensible match. The contributor may need to know the kind of case, the question, the material available and the recipient’s starting knowledge. The recipient may need to know the contributor’s experience and the limits of the proposed help. Use only information relevant to the match and permissible to share.

Include a consequential contrast when it changes the work: another practice setting, a novice’s difficulty, a different schedule, or a perspective the first group lacks. This does not require inviting every stakeholder to the first exchange. It requires not claiming that the first convenient group represents everyone.

Keep the exchange voluntary in its actual terms. A person may ask without yet being able to answer other people’s questions. Another may contribute by describing a failure, finding a source, listening carefully or testing an explanation. State the contribution needed for this activity; do not turn every invitation into an obligation to become a leader.