The Power of Co-Creating

Co-Creating or collaboration are terms that everybody in the business community and entrepreneurial circles are blogging about and speaking to, and yet I read and hear stories from people who it hasn’t panned out for, and this is unfortunate.
There are many layers to the way you can collaborate. Before we explore these, let’s look at some of the challenges, and let’s get our conditions right to them set up better and make your collaborations fruitful for your business or organisation.

1. Focus on joint outcomes and not just your own. – This is important; I entered a collaboration once where the person I was working with was only focussed on her benefits and what she could gain. Collaboration is a two-way street. Its also not necessarily matching lanes. Meaning that the advantages you might receive might be different to the person you are collaborating with’s benefit.
2. Clear boundaries – This is super important. A good collaboration is one that both parties understand the benefits and possibilities. Make sure you know what you bring to the table and don’t don’t sell yourself short, step into your sovereign – own it. Decide clearly what is involved and who will be doing what where.
3. Decide on a timeline. Collaborations don’t last forever, nor should you expect it to. But where collaborations often fall short is not having an exit or expiry date. Most people avoid confrontation and will keep partnerships going beyond their finish time because people have avoided discussing it and keep going. This is what leads to resentments or bust up’s, and the relationships and reputations are ruined or tarnished.

So what type of collaborations are out there?
Co-presented events, promotions, product exchanges, blog exchange, articles, giveaways, service exchanges. You are only limited by your imagination. It’s not that hard and it does require us to spend time working out the logistical crinkles and the boundaries as I mentioned earlier. At the root of each collaboration that comes undone between people or businesses nearly always is poor communication. The better the communication, the better the outcome.

The outcomes can deliver rich rewards, and it’s not always income. It could be new leads, exposure to new markets, sales and profits and even learning, education and experience. Give it a go. If you’re experiencing a bump in the road, contact me if you need some help ????

Until next week
Andy x