In The Know Radio Show: Collaboration Creates Competitive Advantage
When Crayons & Marketers started five years ago, one of the biggest contributors to the company’s success was and still is collaboration. We are a full-service marketing company meaning, we cover marketing for our clients from end to end. So to be an expert at all those pieces would be a heavy lift.
The strength of our business model is our ability and willingness to curate experienced professionals in various disciplines like media relations, website design, and media buying to ensure we can present a seamless total solution for our clients. But those relationships didn’t just happen. Developing them took an intentional effort. Networking is how you find those connections that lead to collaboration.
Collaboration doesn’t just help entrepreneurs, however. Collaboration is a tool that anyone who desires to accomplish extraordinary things in life can and should use because no man is an island.
When you collaborate with other individuals, not only do you relieve some of the burden from your shoulders, but you pool the very best of what others have to offer and achieve an even greater level of success.
When building those collaborative relationships, you’ll want to consider these three things:
- Mutual respect. Respect the skills that everyone brings to the table and how they do things. Diversity of thought is a true gift. There is value in hearing different perspectives. It sparks innovation and alleviates tunnel vision. Align with individuals with skills that complement yours but be willing to listen and change.
- Cultural fit. Be intentional about finding individuals that share common goals. They may approach it differently, but you should be heading in the same direction. Just because someone has the skill you need to serve a client or assist on a project at work, doesn’t make them a good fit. Select people that you genuinely like and respect and vice versa to limit drama.
- Determine goals. Why are you collaborating? What is the common goal? Collaboration should be mutually beneficial, meaning that it benefits both parties. When building these relationships, ask the other parties what they hope to accomplish and how they see the collaboration doing that. You, in turn, share the same insight and determine how to best structure the relationship.
Ultimately, collaborating is building a tribe of individuals you can count on to help you get things done. The reality is, we can’t all be great at everything. At some point, we’ll see our limitations, and if we’re smart, we’ll seek out someone who can fill those voids so that we can grow the business, submit a stellar proposal at work, or whatever the goal may be.
Don’t limit your potential by refusing to admit that you’re human. Collaboration is your secret weapon – your competitive advantage. It’s how you’ll navigate around competitors and close the mouths of naysayers.
As T.D. Jakes mentions in the book “Soar” which is somewhat of a flight plan for entrepreneurs, “As one person, you are limited by a finite amount of time, energy, and ability. You have only two hands and can only accomplish what two hands are capable of accomplishing. You must assemble the best team possible to support, sustain, and soar with your new venture.”
So challenge yourself today to find one individual who complements what you’re trying to do and set up a coffee meeting. Talk about how you can help one another achieve your goals and sketch out what that collaborative effort will look like. It may take a few meetings to figure it out, but start today. Don’t keep struggling in your business or on that job when there may be someone that can help you.
Listen to the entire “IN THE KNOW” Radio Magazine Show HERE.
