Collaboration
Changing the Way We Do Business

By Rosemary DiDio Brehm

Ask five people to define collaboration, you get ten definitions.  Being with colleagues at meetings is NOT collaboration.  Taking customers to lunch to “see how things are going” is NOT collaboration.  Exchanging leads at weekly networking meetings is NOT collaboration.  But all these situations are OPPORTUNITIES for collaboration.

Collaboration takes place when you work together with at least one other party combining resources and expertise to jointly produce a product or service for an end user. Collaboration produces something greater than what you could produce alone.

Ways to Collaborate

Sales-Marketing Collaboration

I know of a vendor who wanted to get its sunglasses into a major retailer. The process usually starts with a proposal to the retailer. Then the retailer requests a sample prototype product display case before moving the decision along.  This could take a few months depending on all the factors.

This vendor wanted to show the client that he was competitively different. He contacted his display manufacturer who already made fixtures for the same retailer and proposed a collaborative effort. Rather than wait for the retailer’s prototype request, they proactively included the fixture and budget implications with the original proposal. They got the job.

Benefits of sales-marketing collaboration

• The vendor tapped into the display manufacturer’s merchandising experience and relationship with the retailer.

• The vendor and the display manufacturer presented an integrated solution to the retailer by showing proposed products and how those products would look on the sales floor.

• This collaborative process sped up the vendor proposal process.

• The display manufacturer created one prototype that led to multiple orders of multiple displays.

• The vendor and the display manufacturer created an easy-to-replicate way of working together to benefit each other.

Peer / Expert Collaboration

In an effort to help business owners understand changes in today’s business world, I worked with several colleagues to bring clients together in a peer/expert conversation. Client peers shared their current challenges, told us what is and isn’t working, brainstormed new skills they needed to learn.

Our expert panel consisted of a banking expert, who hosted our event; an investment expert; an expense reduction expert; and me.  I served as both session facilitator and organizational alignment expert. Our participants felt this was time well spent and the other experts with whom I collaborated found a new way to give value to current and prospective clients.

Benefits of peer/expert collaboration

• Participants learned from experts and each other.

• Experts gathered research about current clients needs.

• We were able to “market” ourselves  in a non-selling environment.

• Attendees have a potential opportunity to collaborate with anyone who was in the room.

Integrated Consulting Collaboration

If a business requires several consultants in different disciplines to help it achieve its goals, the impact of multiple consultants could be problematic. The dilemma arises if the consultants’ services overlap or if their recommendations aren’t aligned.  Turf issues can surface and there can be information and communication gaps.

A way to prevent this is to use independent consultants who have aligned their resources to work as a collaborative response team when needed. I am currently part of such a collaborative consulting group. I focus on organizational and team health, while the others focus on human resource consulting, marketing consulting, and strategic financial consulting. We avoid ‘silo thinking” to create INTERDEPENDENT solutions for our clients.

Benefits of integrated consulting collaboration

• Clients receive integrated consulting solutions based on what is best for the overall company. Results are exponential.

• Although independent consultants, our solutions are guaranteed to fit together seamlessly through our internal collaboration process and system of checks and balances.

• Our proven collaborative process saves the client time in consultant management.

• Even if we are working alone with a client, we have the back-up of our other collaborators if needed. We meet regularly to hone our process and skills.

CAVEAT: Do Your Research before Jumping into Collaboration!

Not all collaborative ideas are going to be successful. Examine all the pros and cons of working with that person or that company. Do you have the same goals, motivations, and resource tools? Set up guidelines and formal contracts and agreements.  Study the opportunity and the relationship carefully. But if you do your homework, you may find just the right collaboration.

True collaboration provides a return on your investment of time, trust, and resources in this relationship. As collaborators, you get to share the opportunity, the work, the risk, and the success. So go out and look for those “turning point” opportunities to collaborate. It will change the way you do business!

About the Author
Rosemary DiDio Brehm, President of turningpoints2results and Facilitator of the Tampa Bay Women Presidents’ Organization, is an organizational strategist who helps businesses manage their turning points and align their leaders, teams, and customers through collaborative techniques. Contact Rosemary at 727-443-0319.