Innovations occur at the intersections
As I walked into the Earthly Goods health food store I noticed the neighbors and immediately thought, ” Wow, Bath and Body Works, Nothing Bundt Cakes and Earthly Goods. There are some dynamite opportunities just waiting to happen, if….”
If What?
If the parties involved have enough courage to create a working relationship and even more courage to develop new processes that leverage all parties’ strengths. In my experience, the latter is where most cooperative ventures grind to a halt.
Creating a relationship seems to be the easy part.
Someone comes up with a great idea that has one missing piece. After a little digging, a partner is found to provide that piece and the excitement is palpable. The first prototypes are made that successfully leverage both companies’ competencies and there’s even more excitement!! And then…
Who’s going to deal with the problems if they pop up?
Do we handle it ourselves or let them handle it?
All of a sudden people forget why the venture was started in the first place.
We can’t let them handle it. We’ve always handled that part of the business!
The doubt and insecurity take over.
The products, the deal, the relationship loses its luster and nothing happens…
For there to be success, parties need to realize they’re a tertium quid, at least at the start.
The partnership results in something new that is neither company and yet both companies. Once a new relationship is formed, both parties need to be willing to re-write the rule book and then play by the new rules.
Accept that, and beautiful things will happen.
So let’s assume that the parties shown in the picture can find a way to work together. What creations would you like to see created out of those relationships? I like the response posted on the ZenStorming™ Facebook page:
ZenStorming 