Collaboration – the rising philosophy

Collaboration, the new business mind set

Back when I started my career, some twenty years ago, I was told some facts about work that I held as truth. Work was hard, it was a dog eat dog world and I was going to meet some of the biggest !*!**! ever, learn to deal with it. In fact, when I gained my first managerial role, a family member gave me the book “Art of war” to help me in my career. That kind of says it all.

To illustrate how the world of business has evolved it is fun to play to DiSC profiles.

Culture through the DiSC Lens

We had already been living in the age of the challenger – the logical and measurable, for some time. The era of logic and rationale over instinct and creativity was embedded. Where head ruled over heart and value was given to IQ rather than EQ. That spurred on the post war economic growth, changing education, health, business and social policy.

My entry into the world of business was the age of the Dominant, direct and political leader. Competition and “win at all costs” was the mantra. Winner versus loser.  Working in Silos was more prevalent than collaboration, even within teams.

Thankfully times changed and a new philosophy emerged. The win/win philosophy. Maybe there was a way that both parties could achieve together. The idea was that together you are stronger, winners. Your influence and your network were your greatest asset, and inspiring others to come on your journey, and succeed together was the goal. The cost would still be to someone else, the loser, the competition. Matrix working became a thing and working cross functionally with collaboration propelled us forward.  This was the age of the influencer.

“The Rat Race is over and we are now in the new era of Entrepreneurial Thinking.” Ronen Gafni

Now the emerging philosophy, is somewhat refreshing and seems to be gaining some success. It is a philosophy, a way of being, that excites me. We are now entering the age of the collaborator, the supportive, the sharing. In this world, entrepreneurs work in collaboration with each other, sharing ideas and knowledge. In this new world, there are no rules.

Gamechangers

Think airbnb, where you share your spare room with someone so you can earn some cash and they can save some. Or google, where information is openly shared, and they give you so much free stuff, email, cloud storage, calendars..

Or look at etsy or not on the high street, a marketplace where hundreds of independent retailers, designers, and creatives share their work and sell, far away from the big high street stores. Now anyone can sell their work.

You need a designer, ok collaborate with someone on a single project via Fivver. You want to be entertained, try youtube. You want to be inspired, watch Ted. You want to meet other people go to a jelly, or do what your doing right now, networking on linkedin.

The list of for benefit companies and entrepreneurs is growing so rapidly and is changing the way we view the world. This is not the “corporate responsibility” tokenism that we see big business add to their website as a “must do”. No, this benefit mind set is their reason for existence. Their mission.

The new collaborative, information sharing, giving style of business is inspiring. It places value on assets other than money. In fact money is seen as an enabler, rather than the goal. The goals are service, creativity, benefit, solving problems, living to your values or increasing the impact on the world positively.

Take a look at the gamechangers 500 website to see how the top 500 companies are already being the change they wish to see in the world.

The rise of the collaborators is here. Are you ready to join them?

We work with businesses that want to create a new normal, stand out and make a difference.  Contact us now to find out how we can help you to make difference.