Sometimes one need to join forces with their fiercest competitors. Rivals are working together more than ever before.
What is likely to happen if you don’t cooperate?
work doesn’t get done. If competitors cooperate, it can be a way to save costs, avoid duplication of efforts andcreate value. It just takes two to cooperate.Cooperation helps both to stay ahead of their common rivals. When the parties have identified a desirable opportunity and found a way to share their work to the world, first it is needed to structure an agreement.
- Establish scope and control
- Divide the pie
Cooperation is an overall win-win, but splitting the gains is a zero-sum game. The solution is relatively easy when there is an even trade but harder if the trade is uneven.
Cooperation with rivals has an important emotional aspect. Some people are comfortable with the idea that there can be multiple winners, and some are not. As a result, pairing up with rival can be a strategy as last resort even in cases where it should be first resort.
It is possible to work around mindsets.
The Apple-Samsung deal, which happened during a billion-dollar legal battle between the two tech giants over patent infringements, was doubtless easier to arrange given that Samsung operates as three separate companies with three separate CEOs. Apple could cooperate with one autonomous part of Samsung while competing with and suing another.
Getting the right mindset requires choosing the right people. The executives must hire people or staff the cooperating teams with people who are open to the dual mindset of cooperation. People tend to think either compete or cooperate rather than compete and cooperate. Doing both requires mental flexibility which does not come naturally. It is a matter of long-term visioning and being aware of the benefits.
