Collaborative Advantage : How Organizations Win by Working Together

256 Pages·2005·0.2 MB·English

by  Elizabeth Lank

COLLABORATIVE
ADVANTAGE
How Organizations Win by
Working Together
Elizabeth Lank
COLLABORATIVE ADVANTAGE
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C
OLLABORATIVE
ADVANTAGE
How Organizations Win by
Working Together
Elizabeth Lank
© Elizabeth Lank2006
All rights reserved.No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication
may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save
with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting
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Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may
be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2006 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
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175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y.10010
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PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave
Macmillan division of St.Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.
Macmillan®is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and
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ISBN-13:978–1–4039–9345–8
ISBN-10:1–4039–9345–9
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Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
No organization is an island 1
Organizational ecosystems 2
Appreciating the art of collaborative working 2
1 Developing a Common Language 5
The importance of language 5
Defining collaborative advantage 7
The reasons organizations collaborate 9
Multiple outcomes 19
The collaborative advantage radar 20
Risks, costs, and benefits 21
Where the effort is needed 22
Understanding the rules of the game 22
2 Preparing to Collaborate 25
The relationship audit 25
Making a strategic assessment 27
Exploring possibilities 29
Test and learn 29
Finding potential partners 31
Serendipity 34
Approaching potential partners 36
Exploring options 38
Agreeing an exit strategy 39
Knowing your collaborative capacity 40
Planning for preparation 40
3 Structuring 43
Choosing a legal form 43
Contractual agreements 46
vii
viii COLLABORATIVEADVANTAGE
Governance structures 47
Allocating costs and benefits 52
Handling intellectual property 53
Assigning accountabilities 54
Flexible structures 56
4 Integrating the Team and Agreeing Joint Outcomes 59
Knowing what to aim for 60
Establishing personal relationships and trust 61
Aligning goals 64
Visualizing success 66
Agreeing ways of working: a collaboration charter 67
Co-location 70
Ongoing alignment 72
5 Nurturing the Collaborative Process 75
Whose job is it? 75
Protecting the core values of the group 77
Consequence management 78
Inducting new joiners 78
Handling conflict 80
Reviewing and adjusting the scope 82
Recognizing individual contributions 83
Ending a collaboration 83
Working across cultures 84
Valuing scarce skills 85
6 Resourcing the Collaborative Effort 87
Cross-organizational resourcing 87
Resourcing the collaborative process 88
Resourcing the initiatives of the collaborative venture 90
Project management 93
Operating expenses 94
Venture capital 96
Intangible contributions 97
The role of the public sector 97
The value of pragmatism 99
7 Communicating and Sharing Information 101
The role of information and communication technology 101
Dispelling the myths 103
Tips for effective communication 105
(cid:1)CONTENTS ix
Creating an information architecture 108
The importance of two-way communication 110
8 Learning 113
Individual learning and development 113
Team learning 114
Organizational learning 116
Knowledge transfer processes 117
Evaluation for learning 118
Methodologies for assessing partnerships 121
Taking time to learn 124
9 Collaborative Skills, Leadership, and Specialist Roles 127
The characteristics of collaborative people 128
Collaborative leadership 130
Specialist roles 132
Appointing a chief relationship officer 136
Making the difficult decisions 138
10 Internal Collaboration 141
The challenge of collaborating across internal boundaries 141
Primary forms of internal collaboration 142
Blockers to internal collaboration 150
Encouraging and rewarding internal collaboration 151
The importance of building internal collaborative advantage 157
11 Developing Collaborative Capability 159
Developing individual capability 159
Building organizational capability 163
Integrating collaborative advantage into business processes 163
Organizational competencies 164
Influencing organizational culture 166
The value of change agents 166
A new management philosophy 167
Notes 169
References 171
Index 173