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The All Access Group
14510 Big Basin Way
Suite 246
Saratoga, CA 95070P: 408.257.6155
F: 408.257.6134
TollFree:866.257.6155
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Even the Lone Ranger Had a Sidekick: How to Harness the Power of Collaboration
by Kelli Richards
Have you ever noticed how some people in business seem to prefer to work as “lone rangers”? We see this tendency in both small business owners who feel they must do it all, as well as in corporate executives who neglect to delegate tasks to their team. You may even have this tendency yourself. If you’re unsure whether you’re a lone ranger, answer these questions:
· Do you sometimes have trouble sharing ownership or delegating responsibility?
· Do you wish you could find a way to make more money without working harder?
· Do you wish you had more time to spend with your friends, family, or for hobbies and personal time for yourself?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may suffer from the Lone Ranger syndrome.
Doing it all yourself may seem heroic, but it can also make you feel isolated and uninspired, because you’re limiting your thoughts and perspectives. Going solo, whether in your own business or by segregating yourself from the corporate team, is not the most effective way to achieve high impact results, as it can be draining, overwhelming, and stress provoking – all of which can leave you feeling flat and exhausted. If you’re seeking to have a full, balanced life beyond your work, then the “lone ranger” approach can be a recipe for disaster.
Rely on Your Posse
When you exchange the solitary approach for collaboration with at least one other person, or even a team of like-minded colleagues, you open the doors to the exponential results that come from combined experiences, perspectives, and fresh ideas. You'll have more fun and be a lot more productive when you team up and share the workload around a set of common goals and agendas. Additional benefits are that you can make more money than you may be able to on your own, and you’re likely to have more energy, which enables you to better serve your customers and tend to personal matters. When you’re sharing the load your life will be more fun, balanced, and fulfilled, and you can focus on the things that matter most to you.
Some of the greatest successes of all time have been collaborative relationships.
These include:
· Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak (Apple Computer);
· William Hewlett & David Packard (Hewlett Packard);
· John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, & George Harrison (The Beatles);
· Elton John & Bernie Taupin (songwriters);
· Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice (composers).
If you want to achieve a meaningful lifestyle and have greater life balance with reduced stress, then effective partnering and collaboration with other professionals is just what you need to reach your destination. Here’s how to get started.
· Define Your Strengths
Make a list of the areas of your business where you could use a partner or collaborator. For example, are you good at closing sales but lousy at collections or managing your finances? Do you enjoy spending more time with customers versus doing the administrative side of your work? Are you an expert in marketing but don’t have a technical bone in your body? Find someone who can augment your strengths to tackle the facets of your business that you don’t enjoy doing.
Creating a list of your strengths and weaknesses will help you identify specific areas where your business or corporate position could benefit by having complementary skills to augment your own. The right combination of collective assets offsets your individual liabilities, balances them, and makes you far more powerful and effective as a team beyond what you could ever have achieved individually.
· Search for the Right People
Identify potential collaborators who would be a good fit. You may already have individuals in your immediate circle who are obvious candidates. If not, networking and putting the word out may help you find potential prospects. Keep an open mind and allow the opportunities to present themselves, in addition to proactively seeking them out.
As you perform your search, don’t limit yourself to your existing network. Seek referrals from past and current colleagues to make new connections. Expand your base by attending key trade conferences and events where prospective colleagues are likely to be. And don’t overlook meeting potential partners online in chat rooms and special interest groups. Technology enables us to connect with people all over the world. Use this to your advantage.
· Clarify Your Values
In order to collaborate effectively, you need to clarify your business and life vision and values. Outline what you value during business interactions and what you expect from others. As you evaluate your life and career, answer the following questions: Is your house in order in terms of a stable financial situation? Is your business/life in good physical condition and free of lawsuits? Do you have a good life/work balance (mix of work and rest and relaxation)? Are you focused on success and achieving your goals? If you answered no to any of the above, you may want to consider alternatives to doing it all yourself.
Share this information with any potential collaborators so you can determine whether your core values and goals are in synch with each other. Then, make a list of what’s most important to you in your life: Is it more money? More time? A blend of meaningful work and time off? More quality time with friends and loved ones? Once you and your potential collaborator have this down on paper, you will see how your values and work style can agree.
Once you’re informed about what is important to each of you and where you are on your individual paths, you can establish a much stronger foundation for how you want to shape and direct your work as a team in order to have a more fulfilled life. If you’re generally in alignment, your chances of success together increase dramatically. And if you have a few areas of concern, you’ll know about them early on and can readily address them as you progress.
· Learn About Your Partners
Pay attention not just to the technical fit (i.e. complementary skills/talents) when collaborating, but also to the intangible style fit between you, as it will be a critical component to your success in working together. Do your work styles and personalities mesh well? Also, compare your individual values and goals. When you understand each other, you can respect and support one another’s objectives, which is essential for each of you to achieve success.
To determine your fit with your potential collaborator, you can use work style assessment questionnaires, personality/behavioral profile tests, or call the person’s past references as you would if you were hiring the person to be an employee. You can also take the direct approach and start by working on something small together. As you do, pay attention to the subtle nuances of how the other person operates in action. Be observant to pick up on key clues to the person’s style. Compromise, sensitivity, and stellar communications between you and the other person are also paramount considerations. Finally, perform the due diligence and document your mutual intentions in writing.
· Create a Winning Strategy
A winning strategy can be as simple as networking and offering referrals to each other’s business, to doing cross-promotions to target clients, to forming consortiums between your businesses or departments. Beyond that, you can sub-contract one another on special projects, develop joint ventures between your companies, or create an outright partnership.
While the latter is probably the first thing most people think of when they hear the word “collaboration,” a legal partnership is not without its challenges. Issues of fit, trust, and shared goals all need to be resolved, and you will need to reach an agreement as to how formal the partnership will be, again with written documentation in place between the parties. You need to be especially sure that you can trust and rely on this person, and that you communicate well. Perform any necessary due diligence upfront, which can include checking a person’s previous track record, financial background, quality of their work, and references. Your future and your company’s success depends on ensuring that all the critical components are in place.
· Strive for the Finish Line
You’ve established your individual values and shared goals, your skills are highly complementary, your personalities mesh, and you communicate well; so far so good. Now you need to determine how you will document your partnership, what kind of legal and tax considerations play into how you formalize your alliance, and how you'll deal with income splits and liabilities, your responsibilities, and specific terms and considerations. What if one of you decides to move on at some point? All of this should be addressed and documented at the outset. As time passes, people tend to remember details differently, hence the need to write things down. Above all else, listen and respect each other. These are the hallmarks of success for any well-run collaboration.
Round Up Your Wagons and Form Your Own Winning Combination
Teaming up with others is the cornerstone of many successful self-employed professionals. When you do it right, collaboration makes your life much easier and more fun. You’ll lead a richer, more fulfilling life and enjoy a successful career when you work smarter, not harder. Finding and working with great partners is the fastest way to achieve both goals.
This chapter reprinted from “Create The Business Breakthroughs You Want: Secrets and Strategies from the World’s Greatest Mentors” © 2004 Mission Publishing. Used by Permission.
About the Author:
A veteran in the digital media arena, Kelli Richards connects the dots between major content brands, top artists, and dynamic companies by leveraging the convergence of entertainment and technology to create profitable new business channels for all. She also produces high profile events such as concerts, awards shows, fundraisers, and conferences. She offers life coaching for celebrities and other accomplished professionals who are seeking greater integration, balance, and fulfillment in their lives. Kelli works with clients all over the globe, but makes her home in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can find more details about Kelli and her company The All Access Group on her web site at www.allaccessgroup.com, or by calling her office at 408.257.6155.
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© Copyright All Access Group 1997-2004. All Rights Reserved.
