We partner when one or both of these factors are present. Need is the driver that forces the collaboration. Want is the factor that supports and encourages it.
The best partnerships are centered around choice. The choice to commit. It is driven by opportunity and shared vision.
When partnerships are driven by necessity, it quickly undermines choice. When one or both parties need the collaboration in order to survive it often results in resentment, power struggles, and politics. The binding agent was not opportunity so much as survival.
It requires two independent parties to truly collaborate effectively. No-one likes to be dependent. We go to significant lengths to secure perceptions of independence.
Independence is a prerequisite for choice.
Choice is the prerequisite for commitment.
Commitment is a prerequisite for successful collaboration.
It’s less truck and trailer and more two-horse-drawn carriage.
