Collaboration is an important characteristic of growth in all sectors and industries. The best products and projects happen when motivated people with a collective vision come together to share ideas, information, and action. When groups of people come together with shared dreams, and visions, it’s important that there’s someone in the group who is ready to take the vision from strategy to execution. The dream is usually the easiest sell. The struggle is “Who’s going to execute?”.
Here are 5 things I think everyone should consider when collaborating:
1. Be sure you’re ready to collaborate: You need to ask yourself why you need people. What are you going to gain from the collaboration ? Do they have skills, expertise, knowledge, contacts that you need ?
2. Identify what you can offer: What value are you bringing to the table ? Beyond having the initial idea, what tangible skill do you have that will help drive the idea forward ?
3. Surround yourself with people that aren’t like you: By all means surround yourself with people with shared vision. But ensure that you all have the different skill sets that are important to drive the idea. Think about this advice like a clothing factory – Some people Cut Patterns, Some Sew, Some Pack the Clothes, Some Sell the Clothes. Be sure that everyone is adding something different.
4. Agree upfront to working terms: It’s important to understand and agree what each person is getting out of the collaboration. Expect Disagreements, keeping in mind that Negotiation is a dance. Don’t take disagreements personal. In fact, many times you will find clarity faster when you disagree – everyone gets to state what they don’t like, and have their challenges solved quickly.
5. Don’t rush a deal: We are in an era where people are quick to scream “Let’s Collaborate” without thinking about the details. Don’t rush to offer a collaboration, and don’t rush to accept one either. Take your time to build out the details, before it becomes a conversation.
Consider these things, and you will have a Dream that Everyone has, and Everyone wants to execute.
We would be brunchin’ with Adaora on the 26th of March 2017 in Lagos, Nigeria where Networking & Collaborating done right will be discussed. Send us an email using Hernetwork@outlook.com if you’d like to attend.