Collaboration and Partnership Development

 

Ever thought about what you get from a partnership or collaboration?

Do you really need to work in collaboration with them?

 

The biggest trend and push from government at the moment is for organisations to collaborate. There is a “collaborate or perish” attitude just as before there was a “compete or fail” mentality. But “collaboration” can have different meanings and tends to get confused with “consolidation”.

 

Developing sound and effective relationships with others is a complex area and requires both time and expertise. It can be confusing and there are many terms to choose from – alliances, partnerships, joint ventures, mergers or takeovers.

 

The reality is that any relationship ought to have three fundamentals; they must yield benefits for the partners, both immediately and into the future; success will inevitably involve real collaboration (creating new value together) rather than mere exchange (getting something back for what you put in) and; they cannot be “controlled” by formal systems but require a dense web of interpersonal connections and internal infrastructures.

 

What Zakumi offers is a way to develop a roadmap for the future that supports your organisation to understand who and why you should collaborate or partner. It is not ‘’partner for partner sake’’ just like we don’t say “grow for growth’s sake’’. Let your competitors do that whilst you focus on building long-term, sustainable and value-added collaborations.

 

There are a few ways Zakumi can add value. There is the opportunity of experiencing our value-chain partnership models. Especially relevant in this customer-led economy, these are the “strongest” of collaborations in which different organisations (including those from different sectors) with different but complementary skills link their capabilities to create value for their customers. Commitments in those relationships tend to be high and the collaborators tend to align across numerous activities and functions, often leading to the creation of substantial change within each organisation. We can support your already defined vision of collaboration or we can get you started by linking you to likely partners.

 

Zakumi does not advocate a particular model of collaboration, but we do advise to "resist the urge to merge".