Collaboration is better than competition
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 6:10AM | 5 Comments Chris Brogan shared this video this morning. I was mesmerized for four minutes:
For me, this video shows the power of working together - of collaborating. It's something we never do enough of. For whatever reason, we're always quick to compete against others. We ask, "How can I be better than them?" instead of "How can we work together to be better than either of us can be alone?"
Nonprofits and churches are the worst at this. Sure, there are shining examples (which tend to be those organizations I really admire), but for the most part, tax-exempt institutions seem protective of beliefs, donors, and ideas.
What a shame.
Imagine if churches - by banding together - could feed more hungry people, clothe more naked people, and provide community for more lonely people. "But they don't think the same thing about baptism as we do," one church says. "And they think differently about inerrancy."
Meanwhile, people starve, freeze, and face life alone.
Thankfully, our artistic community comes to the rescue, as seen in this video. Song writers are notorious for teaming up and writing music together. Pastors rarely write sermons together. The result? A world full of beautiful harmonies and crappy homilies.
Working together - it's not socialism. It's community.
Reader Comments (5)
Very cool. Music is the universal language, isn't it?
Fave line: A world full of beautiful harmonies and crappy homilies.
lol love it. This is interesting, thanks for sharing!
When the common goal is to get things done the organizations can achieve awesome results. We don't see that a lot, unfortunately. If those organizations really considered what they have in common instead of pointing differences they would be able to reach their individual goals faster than when they are isolated. Together is powerful but can expose some flaws. Alone, well, this is way safer and more ineffective.
Sometimes the flaws need to be exposed to allow for the community as a whole to thrive and move forward. This is a necessary reminder to all of us about the power of working together. One thing I've run into though is the fact that sometimes folks don't always want to work with others - unfortunately thinking that working alone will lead to all of the glory.
Maybe more of us will think about how partnerships can lead to more successes more often, especially as this virtual world continues to provide plenty of opportunities and ways to join our voices together for a common cause.
Thanks for all the kind words, everyone. I'm glad this post resonated with so many.
Working closely with someone can clearly expose flaws. But, that's a risk we've got to take in the name of progress. Perhaps we must ask ourselves (and our organizations): Is progress worth sacrificing my own view of myself? Maybe this is a new post for me to explore...