about us
we create Boutique systems for ELITE teams, where people + process must excel under pressure.
What Sets Us Apart
Collaboration isn’t theory—it’s trained. On stage, it’s the difference between chaos and opening night. In the classroom, it’s what turns experience into something teachable. Underwater, it’s the difference between life and death. Each domain has its own stakes, but the through-line is the same: performance depends on trust, clarity, disciplined communication—and the systems that hold them together when pressure rises. That’s the mindset we bring to every team we work with. We don’t separate “soft” and “hard” skills—the best teams integrate empathy, communication, and precision into a single operating system.
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Most teams settle for teamwork—working side by side to finish tasks. But collaboration goes further. It’s not just working together, it’s building systems together: checklists, shared language, clear roles, and resilient habits. In theatre, the show only works if the ensemble builds those systems in real time. In diving, survival depends on rehearsed procedures and shared mental models. Collaboration turns groups into more than the sum of their parts, making the team smarter and more adaptable than any individual. True collaboration demands both structure and empathy; systems alone don’t create trust, and trust alone doesn’t create consistency.
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Poor collaboration is the silent bottleneck. It slows onboarding, stalls projects, and caps growth, no matter how much talent or money you throw at the problem. In high-stakes settings—from surgery to stagecraft to cave diving—it’s not skill alone that fails, but the breakdown of collaboration under pressure. Fix collaboration and everything else accelerates: new hires ramp faster, projects flow, and the team can pivot without grinding to a halt.
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In true collaboration, no one “owns” the idea—the team does. That mindset shift creates psychological safety, so people take risks, speak up, and contribute fully. It unlocks creativity because the best ideas can surface from anywhere, not just from the loudest voice or the top of the org chart. Shared ownership isn’t just culture—it’s the mechanism that keeps systems adaptable when conditions change.
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That’s why our work goes beyond communication workshops or leadership playbooks. We rewire how your team operates under pressure by integrating both technical systems and the people side: standards at the point of use, small loops with tight feedback, coaching over policing, and environments where trust and resilience thrive. That means designing systems that reinforce trust, feedback, and accountability—the human side of reliability. Collaboration becomes your competitive advantage—because when the work gets hard, the teams with stronger collaboration always win.
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The People Side First
Technical systems matter—but they only work when the humans operating with them are prioritized. Psychological safety, clear communication, strong relationships, resilience, trust, and culture fit are what turn procedures into real collaboration. At CollaborationOS, we build environments where people thrive so systems can hold.Joy matters
Collaboration works best when teams feel valued and enjoy the work.Outcomes over deliverables
What matters is the result, not the paperwork.Lead indicators before key performance indicators
Track the signals that predict success, not just the numbers afterward.Standards at point-of-use
Keep checklists and guides where the work actually happens.Inspection without drama
Reviews should be routine and calm, not personal or punitive.Coaching beats policing
Support people with guidance instead of catching mistakes.Small loops, tight feedback
Short cycles keep progress moving and problems visible.Write it so the night shift can run it
Make systems simple and clear enough for anyone, anytime.
About Marcus
Marcus Doshi founded CollaborationOS to help teams perform when it matters most. His approach draws from his unique position as a designer for the stage, where opening night never moves; the deep, where communication keeps you alive; and the university classroom, where he’s built a reputation for teaching collaboration methods that perform under pressure. He studies how people and systems learn to perform and brings that same curiosity to his clients, adapting lessons from high-stakes disciplines into everyday operations. His work across theatre, academia, and technical diving has always centered on one question: how do people and systems learn to perform together under pressure?
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Degrees from Wabash College (AB Magna Cum Laude) and Yale University (MFA in Stage Design)
Nearly 30 years as a designer for theatre and opera. His work has been seen on and off-Broadway and at most major theatres and opera companies in the USA (Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre, Theatre for a New Audience, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, too name but a few) as well as in 18 countries across five continents with notable engagements at Canadian Opera Company (Toronto), La Monnaie / De Munt (Brussels), Aldeburgh Music (UK), Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (France), La Comédie Française (Paris), Sydney Festival (Australia), and Chenla Theatre (Cambodia) among others.
13 years on the faculty at Northwestern University, where he is a tenured Professor. He has taught in the MFA design and directing programs, served as associate chair of the theatre department, and contributed to numerous university committees. His fellowships include the Big Ten Academic Alliance Academic Leadership Program and the Searle Center for Teaching and Learning Fellowship. At Northwestern, he received the Clarence Simon Award for Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring and the Provost Faculty Grant for Research in Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts.
Former President and current Secretary of the Board of Directors of Midwest Underwater Explorers, a Global Underwater Explorers community dedicated to conservation, education, exploration, and fellowship in the Midwest. As President, he led the organization’s transition to 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.
Scuba diving certifications with Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) Tech 1, Cave 2, CCR 1, with Technical Divers International (TDI) Helitrox, Decompression Procedures, and Advanced Nitrox, and numerous with the Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI).