Prehistoric battles: Collaboration vs Competition

“I have a friend who once had this amazing idea for an app”. So many times we’ve heard the same phrase in a conversation, yet most of them end up with “somebody had already invented it” or “it was too expensive” or “he did not have enough time to dedicate to it”.

We live in times when it seems we can create almost anything we imagine. You want an app that counts how many times you say “shit” every day? Done. You want an eatable shoe? Got it. You want a dog with the face of a bat? No problem, we will create it for you!

This is no big news. Technology accelerates exponentially and it is usually because of regular people, like you and me, that decide to embark in a crazy adventure of creating a new product or service that will solve the lives of thousands or millions of people, while providing us with the funds to continue having more crazy adventures.

Now, the problem is that we, as a society, do not evolve as fast, so we are constantly being pushed to change our behavior. I know, it was much easier before, when all we needed to know was how to knock two stones together to make a spark and not freeze to death at night.

Still, my point is that we are used to competing with each other to fulfill our objectives, the same way that cavemen where used to compete for resources. That is because back in that time, resources were scarce, and gathering them without being eaten in the process was difficult. Nowadays we have the benefit of not having to fist ourselves with an empty stomach, but we are still competing with each other, even when we have no real reason to do it.

For example, my brother once had this amazing idea for an app (I know, right? It’s the same phrase I used in the beginning :D), but he was really insistent in not telling anyone about it so that nobody would copy it. That was a real shame, because if he had talked to other people, then somebody would have probably told him if his idea could be copied just by hearing about it, then it wasn’t much of a great idea.

This example (which frankly is just applying common sense) is one of the reasons why we need to stop thinking that we are smarter than everybody else and start trusting others. Another is that when developing an enterprise, it’s a lot easier to ask for help to specialists on subjects so that you can focus on the core activities, saving precious time and energy. Another is that if you want your business to scale, at one point you’ll need to delegate responsibilities on others. Yes, probably your business won’t be perfect, or exactly as you imagined it, but that is not always a bad thing.

You get the point, right? Competition can be used for performance boost, but it is not the only way to do things. And if you think that collaboration is only for non-profits or the public sector, then you should probably look at some case studies. Here’s an infographic with five examples to get you started.

By the way, if you have any suggestions or discussions about this post, feel free to comment and start a discussion below. It would be great to get some feedback to grow and learn from others. After all, that is what collaboration’s all about.

No hay comentarios / 11 May 2017 por sestevez
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