A partnership always defines its own ground rules regarding participation. Typically ‘strong’ partnerships are based on very specific points of commonality among the participants and there are clear and reasonably costly participation requirements (those costs may be cash, resources, political, organizational, influence, personal loyalty and/or commitment, commitment of other tangible or intangible assets, or other obligations of participants).
12 Jan 2014 by Daniel Dow
I had a college friend who played basketball in prep school with Pistol Pete Maravich. My friend could also score with the best of them. Their prep school program had several other athletes who had been selected by major college programs. When I heard him list all the “stars” on his prep team, I asked if they ever lost a game. He smiled and indicated that they didn’t even have a winning season. How could that be possible? The answer was surprisingly simple. There weren’t enough basketballs to go around. They were all shooters gunning for their own stats, and no one truly valued teamwork.
09 Jan 2014 by Daniel Dow
During the 2013 Synergy Summit , groups from more than 22 missional networks and partnerships around the world gathered together to discuss the best practices of partnership facilitation. One of the most stimulating sessions for participants was about Trust BREAKERS vs. Trust BUILDERS .
07 Jan 2014 by Daniel Dow
The method of making dissimilar materials adhere to one another is as old as history. At first natural materials were used, such as natural gums, plant resins, and saps. Then in the early 20th century, synthetic adhesives made from polymers emerged. Because of these modern adhesives, it now became possible to bring together different materials with extremely different properties. Just think of a Teflon pan or the heat shields on a space shuttle. This word picture of Teflon sticking to metal while being exposed to heat, the two materials expanding and contracting at different speeds, is not too far from the tension realized in partnerships. If you have ever been in a multi-lateral partnership or network where there are several different entities working together, you have experienced the tension of trying to “stick together.”
07 Jan 2014 by Daniel Dow
Every network and partnership is characterized by their own set of values and aspirations. Here are ten aspirations commonly held by effective networks. I hope these will inspire you in your own context of collaboration.
06 Jan 2014 by Daniel Dow
Many words are written in an attempt to describe the next new thing. These days that list includes trust, authenticity, collaboration, holistic, personal, sustainability, engagement, and relationship capitalism. You could make a case that the “most likely to succeed” is collaboration.
05 Jan 2014 by Daniel Dow
Networks have enormous, game changing potential. They can re-write the future. In an increasingly interconnected world they hey can help realize truly impossible dreams far beyond the capacity of any individual or organization. Yet many well intentioned networks never realize their potential. There are reasons for this. This short paper seeks to explore some of the keys that spell the difference between an ordinary and a high performance ‘breakthrough’ network.
