The question is “What is your top lesson learned from collaborating, to consider future collaborations?” Leanne Hoagland-Smith, Chief Results Officer of Advanced Systems, answered this question in a way I bet most introverts can easily relate to: with questions. What is her top lesson? The bottom line to her approach is being able to communicate that you are trustworthy and here’s how:
Level of Integrity Equals Level of Trust Determines Level of Collaboration
Being an entrepreneur is difficult. You are always selling and marketing plus actually delivering products or services. When you are a team of one, these challenges truly escalate because you cannot be in two places at once.
One of the most viable solutions to increase sales and expand your business presence is through collaboration with another person or persons. These collaborations are called strategic partnerships or joint ventures.
Having engaged in several collaborations during the last 10 years and turning down at least three times that, I can share the most important aspect of any engagement is the level of integrity. Simply speaking, do you and the other person or persons share the same high level of ethics and trust each other?
If you are considering a collaboration to improve your business results, here are some questions to ask yourself:
Is everyone investing approximately the same amount of time into the endeavor?
Is everyone reaping the same percentage of monetary reward?
Is everyone willing to be open specific to opportunities and sharing those opportunities with each other?
Is everyone committed to this relationship?
If you cannot answer yes to each of these questions, then the level of trust is weak and this will weaken the collaboration.
The benefits of a great collaboration include:
-Tag team networking events to speaking engagements
-Leverage off each other’s strengths
-Be larger than just one person
Collaboration is a great way to increase sales provided you share the same high levels of integrity and trust.
Wow! Thank you Leanne Hoagland-Smith. For my introvert side so much of this rings true.
The questions are excellent and the answers will be invaluable with whom ever I consider partnering with. It’s possible even asking some form of them might be useful in the exploratory discussions with the person being considered for the joint venture.
The questions and the answers could be a an ideal to benchmark for the relationship if you choose. As Rabbi Harold S. Kushner says in one of his books, like in a marriage, you might find there are actually four people in the relationship: 1) the husband, 2) the wife, 3) the husband the wife thought she married and 4) the wife the husband thought he married. In collaborating, whether a joint venture, an affiliate program, cross-promotion, you want to learn ways to stay in integrity for stronger trust. You want to know the people you are in a joint venture relationship with maybe even better than you know your husband or wife.
Are you an introvert or extrovert and how do these questions resonate with you?
As an introvert, how do you like the depth of the questions?
And if you want more of a collaboration discussion, or maybe you are ready for a joint venture experience, sign up now and receive the webinar recording, Joint Venture Matchmaking. Monique and I are pretty excited about helping you build your entrepreneurial empire.
There is great information here.
This jumped out at me: “Is everyone committed to this relationship?” Even the word committed will mean different things to different people so clarification is important.
Variable meanings are fun sometimes however: Alcohol and calculus don’t mix so don’t drink and derive #pun
Hence the need to listen, question and collaborate at a level of just understanding! Thanks Jim.
Love that pun.