Collaboration: How Leaders Avoid the Traps, Build Common Ground, and Reap Big Results

Simplifying somewhat, management books fall into two categories: to the left are the academic ones, perhaps a tad heavy on the research and surely too heavy on the footnotes; to the right are the fluffier ones, where qualitative theories often rest on questionable facts. Once in a while along comes a book that manages the fine balancing act. Collaboration is such an equilibrist. Why? Because author Morten Hansen contributes the proper ingredients for a thorough management book: * 15 years of research on the topic in top companies, * a strong analytical approach such as one would expect from a Boston Consulting Group alumnus, * the academic touch in teaching readers and transferring knowledge, * a dose of spiciness, with anecdotes and examples taken from private and public sectors. What does the book cover? The focus is on how (large) companies can productively use collaboration among their `silos' in order to become more productive. After identifying the possible obstacles to collaboration, the book proposes a framework to develop a disciplined collaborative approach. The author is quick to point out that collaboration is no panacea. In fact in certain cases, it can prove counterproductive. For a synopsis of some of the relevant lessons, you can go to (...) and read five instalments on the book.

Success in the 21st century will depend on collaboration to a much higher level than ever before. This book is an excellent read on this much needed topic. Great narrative introduction, nicely done typology (a four quadrants framework) and practical tips. I especially enjoyed the strategems, like "Molotove cocktail = weak ties and complex knowledge." How true. Highly recommend. Everyone will learn something new - and useful.

As I began to read this book, I was reminded of several core concepts that Henry Chesbrough introduces in two of his books, first in Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology (2003) and then in Open Business Models: How to Thrive in the New Innovation Landscape (2006). As Chesbrough explains, "A business model performs two important functions: it creates value and it captures a portion of that value. It creates value by defining a series of activities from raw materials through to the final consumer that will yield a new product or service with value being added throughout the various activities. The business model captures value by establishing a unique resource, asset, or position within that series of activities, where the firm enjoys a competitive advantage." Having thus established a frame-of-reference, Chesbrough continues: "An open business model uses this new division of innovation labor - both in the creation of value and in the capture of a portion of that value. Open models create value by leveraging many more ideas, due to their inclusion of a variety of external concepts. Open models can also enable greater value capture, by using a key asset, resource, or position not only in the company's own business model but also in other companies businesses." These comments are directly relevant to the material that Morten Hansen provides when explaining how "disciplined collaboration" can help to enable leaders to avoid or free themselves from various traps, create unity of commitment and effort, and "reap big results." He asserts, "bad collaboration is worse than no collaboration." Why? Here are two of several reasons. First, bad collaboration never achieves the aforementioned "big results"; worse yet, bad collaboration makes good collaboration even more difficult to plan and then achieve. With regard to the "traps," Hansen identifies six in the first chapter and then suggests that there are three steps to disciplined collaboration. That is, the "the leadership practice of properly assessing when to collaborate (and when not to) and instilling in people both the willingness and the ability to collaborate when required." These are the three steps: (1) evaluate opportunities, and when making a decision, asking "Will we gain a great upside by collaborating?"; (2) identify barriers to collaboration, next asking "What are the barriers blocking people from collaborating well?"; and (3) tailor solutions to tear down the barriers, keeping in mind that different barriers require different solutions. Throughout the book's first six chapters, Hansen explains how to formulate the underlying "management architecture" of collaboration, of disciplined collaboration, and then shifts his attention in the final chapter to explaining how his reader can "grow to be a collaborative leader" and to help others to do so also. As Chesbrough correctly suggests, it is imperative to have an "open" mindset, to make decisions t

This is a clear and concise description of business collaboration and the associated advantages and pitfalls. In addition it provides a very clear set of principals to effectively manage this complex topic. I think the issue has far greater importance than many people realize. Even as a student of business this book gave me a very important awareness of collaboration and strengthened my skill set. I now realize there is far more to the dynamics of workplace collaboration and understand its enourmous impact on shareholder value.