It isn’t uncommon to acknowledge everyone in your working world as a potential rival. Many companies have famous rivalries: Boots and Superdrug, Costa and Starbucks, McDonalds and Burger King. It isn’t uncommon to see businesses at odds. But, that doesn’t mean every single shop on the high street is a threat.
In an interview with Forbes, Anna Sandberg acknowledged that “collaboration is the key to everything”. Although this idea appears somewhat obvious, the power of teamwork, especially on a wider scale cannot be ignored.
It is simple enough to outline teamwork with companies; but there are other ways to look at the way the world works and has worked before. The Pyramids of Giza were not made by one man; they were the product of countless individuals who had no say in the matter, being forced to craft this monument. There is no inclination to suggest whether the slaves that built the pyramids worked well together. But, modern-day builders, creating the skyscrapers that line London, Manchester, Birmingham etc. obviously have to, the communication required to craft the architecture that lines our cities nowadays is brilliantly crafted by skilled manual labourers that have honed their skills and actively have to communicate and work together. The Gherkin in London couldn’t have ever been a one-man job either.
Collaborations occur everywhere, marketing teams acknowledging how to gain a greater reach in their company’s work by reaching a hand out to others. Iconic brand collaborations include Nike with Michael Jordan, making the Jordans shoe brand, a staple in many shoe shops such as Schuh and JD Sports.
But, it isn’t just the big and famous companies that try their hands at collaborations. Many young people on the photo-sharing platform, Instagram, may have brands phishing for brand ambassadors, their name and following being associated with a company in exchange for free merchandise. Although many of these particular attempts to find people to endorse a small business appear to be fake, there are many small businesses that have gained traction through collaboration with content creators that have significant viewership. For example, in Zoella’s heyday, the young YouTube star was a household name, often making sponsored videos with her content actively promoting the content of another company or brand. This can happen for many kinds of content creators too, not just the makeup and fashion superstars of the web; Super Carlin Brothers, a YouTube Channel ran by brothers Jon and Ben Carlin have done many sponsored videos, despite their content being trivia, fan-theories about popular films and franchises by Disney and Pixar etc.
You never know where you could find an opportunity to reach out to a creator that could put in a good word for you and your products and services.
This isn’t just a small-business kind of thing either; Google, one of the biggest organisations in the world actively collaborates with artists to create graphics on significant days of the calendar for the Google Homepage, users would then be able to hover their curser over the image and find out what the image represents and, by clicking on the graphic, learn more about the significant date in Google’s Calendar.
Being open-minded about what successes may come from collaborations is a significant part of business management, particularly when you are working in an agile space. Having an awareness of the world outside of your own, and the benefits of utilising a hot topic are immeasureable, but, as many, many companies have proven time and time again, there is big money to be hidden in communicating with others.
We are all working our way through our individual universes; each industry may be retrospective, captured in its own bubble, every company within said industry, striving to achieve the level of progress needed to become a household name. That is the common goal. That is, one of the most rewarding elements of commercial success. And, it is something most business owners strive for. You needn’t see every single person around you as your rival, they can be your allies, elevating your stance in your universe, by introducing your brand to people who were unfamiliar. We all orbit the sun of success. We all hope to bask in its warmth. We all orbit the idea of progress, and strive to achieve it.
Based in London, U.K., and founded in 2016 by Arvind Mishra The Agile Works (www.TheAgileWorks.com), is an up-and-coming recruitment and Agile consulting company. Arvind is a Certified SAFe SPC and regularly delivers both private and public SAFe certification workshops.
He is a design thinking expert, Sr. enterprise, portfolio Agile Coach with over a decade of experience working as an Agile coach in diverse industries such as banking, pharma, retail, auto, oil, gas, consulting and government.
The Agile Works; a small team of three strive to help shape the leadership's mind-set and values in readiness for their business transformation journey challenges. With Arvind at the helm, we strive to provide you with the agility tools to make your company that can thrive, and not just survive.
To book a consultation, or for any enquiries, you can contact Arvind via the following email address: arvind@theagileworks.com
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