By Hank Moore, Corporate Strategist™
The biggest source of growth and increased opportunities in today’s business climate is in the way that individuals and companies work together. It is becoming increasingly rare to find an individual or organization that has not yet been required to team with others. Lone rangers and sole-source providers simply cannot succeed in competitive environments and global economies. Those who take advantage of collaborations, partnering, or joint venturing will log the biggest successes in business years ahead.
To determine which cooperative effort is best for your business, let’s examine the differences:
Collaboration
Collaboration is where parties willingly cooperate and work jointly together, especially in an intellectual pursuit. Collaboration is also the cooperation with an instrumentality in which one is not immediately connected. Here are some examples of Collaborations:
- Parties and consultants involved in taking a company public work together as a team.
- Niche specialists collectively conduct a research study or performance review.
- Company turnaround situation requires a multi-disciplinary approach.
- A group of consultants offer their collective talents to clients on a contract basis.
- The client is opening new locations in new communities and asks its consultants to formulate a plan of action and oversee operating aspects.
- Professional societies and associations.
- Teams of health care professionals, as found in clinics and hospitals.
- Composers and lyricists to write songs.
- Artists of different media creating festivals, shows, and museums.
- Advocate groups for causes.
- Communities rallying around certain causes (crime, education, drug abuse, literacy, youth activities, etc.).
- Libraries and other repositories of information and knowledge.
Partnering
Partnering is a formal relationship between two or more associates. It involves close cooperation among parties with each having specified joint rights and responsibilities. Here are some examples of Partnering:
- Noncompeting disciplines create a new mousetrap based upon their unique talents and collectively pursue new marketplace opportunities.
- Widget manufacturing companies team with retail management experts to open a string of widget stores.
- A formal rollup or corporation to provide full-scope professional service to customers.
- Non-profit organizations banning resources for programs or fund-raising.
- Institutions providing startup or expansion capital.
- Managing mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.
- Procurement and purchasing capacities.
- Corporations working with public sector and non-profit organizations to achieve mutual goals in the communities.
- Private sector companies doing privatized work for public sector entities.
- Organ donor banks and associations, in consortium with hospitals.
- Vendors, trainers, computer consultants, and other consultants who strategically team with clients to do business. Those who don’t help to develop the business on the front end are just vendors and subcontractors.
Joint-Venturing
Joint-venturing is when partners come together for specific purposes or projects that may be beyond the scope of individual members. Each retains individual identity. The joint-venture itself has its own identity and reflects favorably upon work to be done and upon the partners. Here are some examples of Joint-Venturing:
- Producers of energy create an independent drilling or marketing entity.
- An industry alliance creates a lobbying arm or public awareness campaign.
- Multiple companies find that doing business in a new country is easier when a consortium operates.
- Hardware, software, and component producers revolutionizing the next generation of technology.
- Scientists, per research program.
- Educators, in the creation and revision of curriculum materials.
- Distribution centers and networks for retail products.
- Aerospace contractors and subcontractors with NASA.
- Telecommunications industry service providers.
- Construction industry general contractors, subcontractors, and service providers in major building projects.
- Group marketing programs, such as auto dealer clusters, municipalities for economic development, travel and tourism destinations, trade association, and product image upgrades.
- International trade development, including research, marketing, relocation, negotiations, and lobbying.
Characteristics of a Good Collaborator:
- Already has a sense of self-worth.
- Has a bona fide track record.
- Has a commitment toward knowledge enhancement.
- Walks the talk by their interactions with others.
- Supports collaborators in developing their own businesses and offering referrals.
- Has been on other teams in the past and has case studies of actual collaborations.
- Has successes and failures to their credit with an understanding of the causal factors, outcomes, and lessons learned.
Benefits for participating principals and firms include:
- Ongoing association and professional exchange with the best in respective fields.
- Utilize professional synergy to create opportunities that individuals could not.
- Serve as a beacon for professionalism.
- Provide access to experts otherwise not known to potential clients.
- Refer and cross-sell each other’s services.
- Through demands uncovered, develop programs and materials to meet markets.
Hank Moore has advised over 5,000 client organizations including public sector agencies, small businesses, non-profit organizations, and 100 of the Fortune 500. Contact Hank by phone at 713-668-0664, by email at [email protected], or visit his website at www.hankmoore.com.
