Community for-purpose Organisational Development
We are fortunate to have had the opportunity to facilitate the establishment of many successful strategic alliances of various types, across a wide range of industry sectors in Australia over the last ten years.
Recently we worked on a joint venture between a not-for-profit organisation and a commercial entity. The results achieved by this alliance clearly illustrates what can be done when a not for profit and a for profit get together to create a nutritional food product that addresses the needs of an ageing population.
By bringing what they have to offer to the table and share their capabilities with each other, within a spirit of cooperation delivered new streams of value to the not-for-profit and increased market share for the for-profit company.
In this case, the results have included an expansion of what these companies are able to offer their customers, as well as a positive return on investment for their own time and effort.
We use the very same method and approach that these companies used in building their relationships with each other. In this sense we are industry agnostic. Additionally, we supply the very same roadmap that they used to get where they are today.
An essential question to ask yourself is: “What do I want to do?”
You must be completely clear about your answer to this question. You must know precisely what your purpose and business objectives are as well as the values that you hold dear when going into such relationships.
I know with certainty, through extensive experience, that adopting a collaborative business mindset and a business model for small to medium sized organisations has proven merit. In fact, for many of us, it is the ONLY way that we will be able to compete on a global scale.
Doing business collaboratively is one way of providing innovative solutions – from design through to manufacturing, logistics, installation, after sales service and maintenance – to the bigger customers in your industry sector.
So, where do we start?
All effective business relationships are built on a foundation of trust.
Initially we meet someone, we talk and listen to them, we find areas of common interest, and then we start to make connections with each other which make sense to us.
Understanding the organizational ecology within which it operates and the context that it exists in is where it all starts.
We discover what motivates each of us and what we have in common with each other that could prove to be of mutual, commercial benefit to us.
As we get to know each other at deeper levels, we decide whether we are compatible or not, and if we are the right fit for each other. We then set out on a journey of discovering business motivations, capabilities and opportunities that, when utilized in the right way, will reap rewards for each of us and provide a better solution for our customers.
When we begin working with others, creating relationships based in trust is an essential element, both personally and in our organisation.
By shining a light on our relationships with each other and then managing the issues that arise for us – talking them over openly, and having whatever conversations we must at critical points along the way, we will make the most of the opportunities that collaborative thinking and practice have to offer.
Once we have established healthy, trusting relationships with each other, they will begin to impact our own lives and organisations in very positive, practical way.
Of course, this is not to say that these relationships will be easy or that there will not be difficult obstacles that must be addressed and overcome, but these types of relationships will ultimately drive us to improve and performance and results.
According to Helen Wachtel, a well-known family therapist, the definition of a dysfunctional family is:
“A family with more than one person in it”
This sentiment is no less true when we are trying to build complex business arrangements with others, whether they be some form of loose affiliation or a full-on joint venture. Teaming arrangements between companies are not for the faint-hearted!
Therefore, to minimize the risks and maximize the opportunities, we need to ensure that we structure the trust that we have established with each other in the right way.
Personal relationships of trust must be underpinned by all the agreements we make with each other and must be spelled out clearly and explicitly.
We need to take ourselves through a systematic and disciplined, integrated series of processes that will facilitate the building of trust and will enable us to choose a business structure that best supports that trust.
Learn more about our Organisational Development consulting services here.
Peter McLean
