Collaboration, co-development, joint venture, whatever the name, working together is based on trust, dependence and risk sharing. Building trust starts in that split second where you realize there is something to like in the other party; you start sharing history and realize you share common goals. When you realize that all parties together can achieve dreams none of the parties can achieve alone, you realize you depend on each other. Trust fuels the bonding process; because it provides the assurance the other will not to abuse this dependence. Then comes the moment where you decide to share the risks of your joint venture based on the strengths of the individual partners. It’s also the moment you should be discussing contracts, to provide a legal base for the newfound relationship.
Sadly, we seem to be living in a society that thinks it can skip the first phase. Contracts seem to replace trust in many cases and a realistic view of interdependencies and a realistic sharing and resulting management of risk does not happen. As a result, specifications are fixed and the flexibility and manoeuvrability needed to tackle the challenges we face in these times are lost.
We need to change this attitude and understand that without trust there is no real collaboration. Strengths and weaknesses need to be shared not hidden to position for contract negotiations. Without a clear understanding of the interdependencies of the parties involved there is no realistic risk sharing. Without realistic risk sharing the joint venture will collapse at the first sign of trouble.
Am I asking everybody to trust each other? Of course not! Just remember that building relationships takes time and a substantial investment from all parties involved. There is no magic bullet and there certainly is no magic contract to cover all contingencies that we might encounter while trying to realize a common goal. My message is to start building relationships based on trust now, we need them to grow in order to deal with the challenges ahead.
2 comments:
Rudy
Perhaps trust is more about experiential confidence, and dependence is really inter-dependence, and risk sharing is about personal leadership and owning responsibility for choices.
This is an area that needs more discussion because it is culturally guided and each person see collaboration from their cultural perspective.
Colby
Much research has already been done on trust. It boils down to three things:
Initial trust; some trust easily, where others are weary by nature.
Cognitive trust; what do I know about a person, reputation, etc.
Affective trust; based on those illusive emotions such as affection and loyalty.
The first two are more culturally guided, the latter one is pretty universal.
If it's not a language thing (you're the native speaker after all), I prefer to use dependence, since power and dominance are just as much part of the equation as reciprocity. Océ set up a network of suppliers that where dependent on Océ, but not vice versa. The suppliers only realised this when Océ demanded a 20% price cut. And got it! Not exactly the kind of network we have in mind, but power and dominance will play their role.
Good build on risk sharing. You need personal leadership to know what you can do and can contribute in a relationship. Than you can make the right choices because you know the consequences and can own up to the responsibility of your choices.
Thx
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