Collaboration can be defined as working together to reach a common goal. It is premised on the ability of the collaborators to achieve more by working together than they could on their own or in competition.
At its best, collaboration is characterized by clarity in the means to and goals of the shared enterprise, effective communication, mutual support and respectful and productive interpersonal behavior. In other words, it is the heart of an effective and productive partnership.
When BMC is engaged to mediate for clients, collaboration has often broken down and been replaced by animosity and competition. The original hope of the partner relationship — enlarging the pie by working together — frequently has given way to a battle for advantage in a zero-sum game.
BMC’s goal in mediations and other engagements is more than just helping clients reach arms-length commercial and legal agreements. We work to help our clients achieve or restore a level of collaboration they believe will allow them to be highly productive as partners in the future. (Even when partners decide that their best outcome of a conflict is to end the partnership, BMC helps them do that in a cooperative way that minimizes the personal and financial costs for all.)
The road to better collaboration includes clearing the air of old misunderstandings, improving personal interactions and communication, clarifying the partners’ “deal” and business objectives, and more. The result of better collaboration is more productivity and satisfaction. BMC’s conflict resolution, conflict prevention, and other services all have the common core of delivering the benefits of collaboration to our clients.
Contact BMC today to learn more about how we can help.
