Collaboration
When things go wrong in business, it’s easy to fall into the blame trap. A goal wasn’t hit or a problem wasn’t foreseen, so it stands to reason that someone took their eye off the ball, right?
Well, not necessarily. More likely, you’ll find that there was simply not enough communication and – crucially – collaboration going on. Every cog in the machine may have been spinning, but if they aren’t locked together the engine won’t run.
I’ve written before about the benefits of businesses working together to accomplish things they never could alone.
The old idea that every company is a competitor, and every competitor an enemy, is finally losing steam.
It’s a good thing it is, too. That kind of thinking has seen the collapse of many promising ventures over the years, and continues to hold back innovation and inspiration today.
When the UK Commission for Employment and Skills ran their survey in 2014, they found that the largest motivating force by far for collaboration was the ability to learn from previous experience. Staying up-to-date on the latest training procedures, plugging skills gaps and simply saving money were all significant factors – but sharing knowledge and experience trumped everything else.
The clear message is, if you’re committed to going it alone, you’re missing out.
One thing I’ve noticed is that smaller organisations are less likely to be collaborating to best advantage. In part, this is an economies of scale and hours in the day problem – but there’s a cultural side to it, too.
Micro-businesses with only a few employees are used to the idea of learning as they go and doing it all themselves. While that’s often a workable survival strategy, it falls short of being a plan for growth.
Smaller businesses can get stuck in that mindset, discounting the idea of collaboration with other businesses simply because they’re so focused on staying afloat they can’t see past those short-term necessities. The sad irony is that those micro-businesses could easily have proportionally the most to gain, if only the path were clearer for them.
Collaboration between businesses and partner organisations is driven by trust. It’s one thing to identify where your deficiencies lie, but it can be quite another to rely on someone else to help address them.
Research and personal experience both agree that businesses work best together when there’s a pre-existing relationship in play.Again, SMEs can struggle here, lacking the established networks of larger businesses. That’s by no means an insurmountable obstacle, though.
Small business owners are adventurous by nature, and RIFT has always found that a little personal understanding and attention can go a long way toward bringing them out of their shells. Once they’ve tested the water, the clear benefits of working collaboratively should be all the motivation they need.
What we’re talking about here is simply understanding that we can accomplish more when we work together.
Take education, for example. It’s no secret that a lot of firms are facing skills shortfalls right now. Forming networks and working together form a great basis for ramping up skill sets and perfecting practices. The problem you’ve been sweating over for months may have been solved already, but you never thought to ask a potential partner for input.
It’s not just a matter of businesses collaborating, either. That impending skills crisis we’re all worrying about gets a lot less scary when we can work directly with universities to make sure that people entering the workforce are fully prepared for the challenges they’ll face there. Universities get to offer a wider and more practical range of courses, while employers have the chance to attract new talent. Everyone wins.
At heart, all we’re really talking about is getting out of the mindset that success necessarily comes at the expense of others.
Shared resources may be stretched a little thinner than those we jealously clutch to ourselves, but the rewards they bring in speak for themselves. It’s not just a question of achieving specific, short-term goals with partners that we couldn’t hit alone – although that’s a huge point to consider. It’s also about creating a culture that embraces collaboration, where shared experience, information and skills raise everyone’s game.
At the end of the day, we’ll always go further by finding new solutions together than by sitting alone, wondering who’s to blame.
Remember: “It takes two flints to make a fire.” –-Louisa May Alcott
Jan Post
Tax Refunds Expert, SME Accounting Services, SME Research and Development Tax Credits, Capital Allowances Tax Credits
Sponsors
