I grew up professionally in the dog-eat-dog ad agency world. The “my idea” world. A “look-at-me” world. That attitude isn’t welcome anymore. Spending more time developing ideas than protecting egos is the only way to move culture forward in 2012. Those companies that are getting rid of intellectual boundaries by removing silos and cubicles will bring us into the future. It’s not about ping-pong tables either. It’s about to get real in 2012. That’s a good thing because America is in a little bit of an innovation pickle and we need to get out of it. A little more “share and build” and less “divide and conquer.”
This is not a 99% vs. 1% article. It’s about how your relevancy as a company depends on taking risks and sharing ideas.
This Age of Collaboration (herein AoC) wasn’t my idea. It was yours. I am an Iconomist noticing trends. AoC began to seed in my mind when we were pitching Company X, a new player in the luggage market. I sent an email to one of our past veteran luggage clients from Company Y asking about some industry information that might give us an edge since we did not have abundant luggage experience. Veteran Company Y gave me the information I needed, but shocked me with an offer to make time to speak to the people at Company X in case they had any industry questions. I threw out my copy of The Prince by Machiavelli.
AoC gained momentum a few months later when one of the partners we work with (we work with video production houses, mobile developers, street marketers and public relations firms) to launch a mutual client brand sent me the proposal they provided to our mutual client (minus their fees). This document disclosed their methodology and other proprietary information that I once considered confidential so that we could put our heads together and build the best brand. This humbled me. I burned Art of Seduction.
I started to think how my industry was beginning to mirror the hip-hop world. Drake feat. Lil' Wayne, or Max Tannone’s Jaydiohead (Jay-Z and Radiohead mashup). In my case it could become Company X feat. Company Y. You see it in the fashion industry too. I don’t mean cross industry like G-Star feat. Jean Prouvé, or high and low collaborations like Target feat. Missoni. I am talking about the Hermes/Yohji Yamamoto collaboration, or the Lacoste/Malandrino collaboration, where two similar entities of a single industry with shared audiences come together.
Age of Collaboration crystallized at General Assembly, a co-working environment in the Flatiron district of New York that “facilitates collaborative practices and learning opportunities” across entrepreneurial communities. When I walked in for the first time, I was intoxicated. I breathed in a concentrated air of hope, inspiration, and hard work where everyone was feverishly working towards their future IPO. I saw an old friend of mine, a genius web developer from my HotJobs/Yahoo days, in the plein air lobby area where he and 75 other people were heads down at the computer, sharing screens, or drawing in the air with their hands. My former colleague was there with the founder of an interesting auto start-up. I sat down to say hello. And then, the founder flips around his laptop so I could see the screen and begins to take me through his roadshow presentation. “What do you think?” he asks me after each arrow key shift to the next page. I’ve never met him, I did not sign an NDA. We did not have a meeting. We did not have a contract. It was a silent pact we made and that we all need to have with each other, “ Let’s build a better future together.”
Wishing you all an inspired and healthy 2012. Thank you clients for letting me help you with your vision. Thank you readers for letting me into your minds. Thank you colleagues and staff for making me smarter.
Sincerely,
Alona Fromberg-Elkayam