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Collaborate Your Way to Success
Paul "the soaring" Siegel
The best way to market - or accomplish anything - on the
Internet is to be helpful. Netizens appreciate it and try to be
helpful in return. As I indicated before, the 3 ways of being
helpful are by enabling people to learn, by cooperating with
them in their projects, and by building a community where they
may help each other.
There is a 4th way: collaboration. Instead of merely discussing
problems, you may work together with others for your mutual
advantage. You help your partner. Your partner helps you.
Try Collaboration
Collaboration is used by BIG companies when they form joint
ventures. But collaboration truly is a means for the SMALL
outfit to spread its wings. Instead of trying to be a
jack-of-all-trades - there is no such thing these days - work
on what you do best and enjoy, and partner with an expert or
experts in fields you are not so good at and don't enjoy.
Collaboration enables you to strengthen your strengths while
working on projects you ordinarily would not get. Someone else,
who enjoys it, does what you can't or don't want to do. She
strengthens her strengths. As partners, you may reach great
heights.
> If you are a good writer and you love to write, but you
can't draw a straight line, COLLABORATE with someone who is an
accomplished artist, but can't write a complete sentence. The 2
of you may be able to design outstanding websites.
> If you are a hotshot programmer, but don't know how to sell
your exquisite software packages, COLLABORATE with a
super-salesman, who though he may not understand the details of
your work, appreciates the results you produce. Though the 2 of
you may be independent performers, working together you may
achieve a great deal more than working individually.
> If you are an inventor who loves conceiving all sorts of
gadgets but has no idea how to manufacture them, COLLABORATE
with a manufacturing expert who appreciates what you do. Why
not include a venture capitalist and make it a 3-way
collaboration?
Finding a Collaborator
If you are typical, you are good at some things and not good
doing other things. To be productively effective, all you need
do is find experts at things you must get done but are not so
good at. This sounds simple and easy. But it is not. People come
in all shapes and varieties. Some you can work with; others you
can not. The trick is to locate an expert that is suitable for
you.
Among the factors to consider are the following:
> DOES THE PERSON COMPLEMENT YOU? - Compare skills,
experiences, perspectives, and working styles. Though your
abilities are different, can you discuss these things with
understanding? Can you mesh your working styles?
> DO YOU RESPECT YOUR PARTNER'S CAPABILITIES? - Do you have a
healthy regard for what she can do? You have seen results
previously achieved and you like them. At the same time, does
your partner respect your work? Without this respect you will
not be able to collaborate.
> DO YOU HAVE A SHARED VISION AND COMMON VALUES? - Do you
share the same or similar goals? Do you agree on what needs to
be done? Do you visualize the results to be achieved in similar
ways? And your values about work, selling, profit and human
relations are similar?
> DO YOU TRUST YOUR PARTNER? - Without trust you will achieve
nothing. You will spend more time in arguments than necessary.
Trust is a must!
> CAN YOU STAND TO BE CRITIQUED? - Do you get hot under the
collar when your work is critiqued? Your partner must be able
to critique your work just as you should be able to critique
your partner's work. Good, honest give-and-take is necessary
for a fruitful collaboration.
> CAN YOU SHARE THE LIMELIGHT? - Must you be the top guy, or
can you share credits with others? Is your ego strong enough to
do this?
If both you and your partner meet these requirements, try a
collaboration. Begin with something small, just to test
yourselves. If you meet the test, go for it.
A successful collaboration may lead to greater accomplishments
and greater business success. Each of you learns and improves,
and so does the final product or service. Collaboration lifts
all to a higher plane.
Collaboration is the Wave of the Future
The Internet lends itself to successful collaboration. When
wireless equipment becomes more sophisticated - in a year or 2
- collaboration will be more frequent. In addition to the usual
voice messages, individuals will be able to use cellphones to
exchange diagrams, pictures and other data they may be working
on together.
In Western countries, we have been trained to be
individualistic. Self-reliance is a major virtue. But in this
complex world, which daily becomes more complex, there is no
way any individual can be totally self-reliant as in the past.
Individualism is great. But to be more productive and
successful, we may need to cede a small amount of ego, so
we may be able to collaborate effectively with others.
Collaboration will become more and more the conventional
way of doing things.
Paul -the soarING- Siegel is a provocative Internet speaker
and author of HELPFULNESS MARKETNG, an ebook stressing learning, cooperation and community. Learn about it at:
http://www.learningfountain.com/
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