Long live 'good collaboration'

I’ve always hated businesses collaborating, even when it’s on purely social grounds. In the end I’m a capitalist at heart and whilst it has its problems, it’s not as bad as all the rest. And collaboration fits in the rest. When companies who do similar things get together, whilst on the outside they may look like they create change, the collusion is almost always a stitch up. Yes a stitch up because, as they are not competing with each other so the need to go further disappears, and so the more they talk the more watered down it becomes – and the less change that actually happens.

Take the booze industry. Has all the collaboration of all the drinks manufacturers really optimised what could have been achieved? Well it’s done enough to stave off more regulation, but has it actually worked? Go out to Cardiff city centre on a Friday night and tell me that the responsible drinking message is getting through loud and clear to the public – oh no it isn't!

If each of those businesses had had to find ways to out-do each other in the area of responsible drinking, we would surely be light years ahead. So let's ban all industry collaboration initiatives and watch competition re-enter businesses approach to these issues.

But stop - not so fast - is all collaboration wrong? Absolutely not. In fact collaboration across sectors should be demanded. Whilst it’s great for a single company to want to be sustainable, it’s impossible to be so if no-one else is doing it around you. That doesn't just mean a company's supply chain either (because at least you have more control of that). No, I mean things like if there is poor public transport around your offices how can you persuade your staff out of their cars. Which is why we must all collaborate with any organisation except the ones in your own sector. Water companies and energy companies working together to make more sustainable cities in partnership with local authorities. All have got something to add, something new to help each other - a positive creative way forward.

And perhaps if the Coalition Government is really going to work it should embrace the concept of coalition fully. Let's get groups of people together with lots of divergent experience and see if together we can work out a new way of doing things, that works better, utilises innovation wherever it may come from and costs us all less.

Long live 'good collaboration'.