#CollaborationForGrowth Series

Any business leader with a vision can postulate a new venture, but it takes real collaboration to make it a success. For real growth to occur, today’s market complexities require the inclusion of multi-disciplinary skills, competencies, and experiences. Business leaders who embrace the solo approach usually live to regret it.

One way of defeating threats presented to a business is through collaboration with other companies. Our fast-paced marketplace requires mutually beneficial partnerships to leverage creativity, experience, and resources to help companies solve in less time.

Every business leader should heed the TOP 5 LESSONS on collaboration:

1. Barriers are not technical. Most companies suffer from cultural and organizational barriers to implementing collaborative approaches. To overcome this, business leaders must build a conducive work culture, processes, and shared goals rather than stone-cold bureaucracy. Collaboration starts from within a company.

2. Collaboration must be embraced, not deployed. Executives must be willing participants, modeling collaborative behavior and adopting the technology tools, not just be taskmasters. All team members must be committed. Corporate culture is not set by words but by the founder’s actions. Trust is a requirement for every successful collaboration.

3. Good ideas can come from anywhere. As companies play to their strengths, they learn to be authentic, increasing the effectiveness of the collaboration. These are critical approaches to identifying what is essential, exploring what is possible, and coordinating for successful outcomes.

4. Consensus is the nemesis of collaboration. Collaboration leaves everyone with a “win-win” feeling while working on an agreement. Most of the time end up with someone feeling like they lose. Collaboration allows more real opportunities and is suitable for business, while consensus narrows the actors to a compromise.

5. More collaboration opens opportunities to create more value. Within any given business environment (market, industry, offering), chances are often missed unless everyone listens and communicates. Working together with other companies can foster a culture of innovation.

Undeniably, collaboration is essential and profitable for every business, whether it be a big corporation or a startup. According to industry experts, the average return on collaboration is four times the initial investment. Both businesses gain from cost avoidance, cost reductions, business optimization, and faster business decisions.

Collaboration is the new imperative and an innovative way to accelerate growth, improve agility, increase flexibility, and cut costs. Forging a collaborative culture is not easy, but it sure has its reward.

DuartePino is a management advisory firm that combines in-depth customer knowledge with practical expertise in marketing to help clients create sustainable business growth. We can provide your organization with a fresh perspective, a proven process that invests in the outcome, and the tools for successful execution. From Fractional CMOs to business advisory services, contact us to learn how our team can help with growth strategies for your organization.