Trust – The Missing Ingredient

It is a commonly believed myth that all you need for collaborative relationships to thrive is for the parties to do what they say they will do. We call this C3 behavior (cooperation, coordination and collaboration). However, this misses an important ingredient. Collaboration is all about achieving dynamic potential, normally involving innovation, not just maintaining the status quo. In order for this to happen, there must be an expectation on each side that the other will continue to live up to the commitment. Collaborative business relationships are like marriages where reciprocal tolerance, patience and some reductions of freedom are the norm. Thus, the partners need to maintain a high level of trust in each other's continued willingness to go the extra mile.