There is no doubt that we value and promote collaboration within our organizations while searching for the right talent. Still, when it comes to practicing collaboration as a business-to-business relationship, it is often not sought after. We are keen to see our business units collaborate better with each other, but we don't want our company to do the same with other organizations.
We believe this is a must in today's business reality — to test, try, and adopt as part of the growth DNA. If we are brave to embrace it as our approach, our organizations, people, and society will benefit.
Collaborating with other organizations and businesses enables healthier and more meaningful growth. With collaboration in mind, we focus on activating values already created and amplify them through synergy.
The old formula is very simple and known by all of us. We are competing in the uncollaborative approach, striving to grow our value by diminishing someone else's.
The new formula is even more straightforward. The collaborative approach enables us to focus and thrive in what we are great at and do what motivates us the most. The collaborative approach exponentially multiplies the number of paths we can take because our partners complement us in know-how, outreach, creativity, and opportunities. Collaboration with different organizations motivates us to be more agile and adaptive. It also helps us anticipate the upcoming changes faster since we are not only focused on what is happening in our immediate business surroundings.
This is why we believe that growing together in close collaboration is a step forward for the entire society, and we call it "Evolutionary growth". Evolutionary growth brings three essential benefits:
When done right, collaboration is a forceful driver of growth and development. Think of Red Bull & Go Pro, Deezer and Telenor, Aston Martin and James Bond 007. These examples focus on marketing and sales, but there are many other ways, both big and small companies can collaborate.
Here are some examples, done by the companies we are fortunate to be working with and, who also believe that collaboration will help them unlock the next level of growth:
In times of a global pandemic, it seems that collaboration between organizations might become more necessary. The inability to travel, and the need for fast changes, made a significant difference in pushing businesses to find new models to adopt. Many businesses turned to collaborative partnerships to open up new markets, create new value propositions, and keep their business adapting to unique circumstances.
We've seen it already happening with companies striving to improve their e-commerce, and we are witnessing it more and more in other areas as well.
It’s not gonna be only about the technology; but finding ways how to put creativity in collaboration rather than competition. We need small and medium-sized businesses to thrive, they are the strongest force of innovation and sustainability.
Let's join forces to ensure that the collaboration will be a standard component in the new business circumstances to grow value for all stakeholders.