Five Forces of Cooperation

Anyone who has studied strategy is familiar with Michael Porter’s 5 Forces of Competition.? It is part of every Strategic Management Book and is the foundation of many strategic plans.? As a refresher, Porter lists the following 5 forces (and they are generally considered threats, by the way):

1.??? Threat of substitution

2.??? Threat of new entrants

3.??? Power of suppliers

4.??? Power of buyers

5.??? Competitive rivalry

?Organizations spend a great deal of time analyzing their competition and these different dimensions of business and devising ways to counteract the forces.? I dare say individuals likewise exert a fair amount of energy engaged in competitive analysis as well (in terms of relationships, economic status, physical appearance, etc.…).? I want to challenge you to suspend judgement for a moment and consider the following possibilities.

?What would our organizations and our lives look like if instead we analyzed what I am referring to as the 5 forces of Cooperation?? We could embrace the inherent value of cooperation in our family units and in our small tribes of friends.? However, something tends to creep into our interactions and turn them towards competition, especially as the size of the group grows.? This more often than not is manifested in unhealthy competition.? We view the world as a fixed pie. We view life from a scarcity mentality.? We look at our interactions as either winning or losing.?

?No Man Is an Island by John Donne [1572-1631]

?No man is an island,

Entire of itself;

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less,

As well as if a promontory were:

As well as if a manor of thy friend's

Or of thine own were.

Any man's death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

It tolls for thee.

?What I am proposing is we flip this paradigm and begin to explore the benefits of cooperation across all dimensions of our organizations.? We can try and create win-win scenarios as opposed to win-lose ones. For an organization, I would like to propose examining 5 forces of cooperation (patterned specifically on the original 5 forces of competition).

?The five forces of cooperation are:

1.??? Partnering with suppliers/vendors to create mutually beneficial relationships

2.??? Welcoming and encouraging new entrants to our industry in order to expand opportunities and introduce new innovative ideas and perhaps leverage creative possibilities.

3.??? Collaboration with other companies in our industry to share best practices, to share resources, and create solutions to challenges that transcend individual organizational boundaries. Think about the potential impact as organizations and even countries collaborate to address and solve global challenges, such as pandemics and climate change.

4.??? Learning from and encouraging substitute products and services to better serve our planet and meet human’s needs more deeply and more sustainably.

5.??? Partnering with our customers – truly embracing them as someone we serve.?

?The 5 forces of cooperation are all about co-creating a better, more life-giving, compassionate, and sustainable existence.? This can happen in our family units, in our workplaces, and in our communities.? Today’s challenges demand we interact differently.? We sit at a crossroads in our journey as a species, where we can either move towards making this a better planet for everyone or destroying it, with everyone losing.? The time has passed where there can be winners and losers.? The consequences are interdependent and we all have a shared destiny.? We are presented with the technology and resources to improve living conditions globally and with a positive, long-term impact. ?While we know this, we still struggle with this mindset and continue to sacrifice our collective future for short-term gains. An analogy that comes to mind is a passenger, sitting in their fancy room aboard the Titanic, and saying to themselves, I will be fine because my own room is waterproof.? Clearly we see the comical absurdity of this mindset, and yet, we see this played out daily around the world, where individuals and nations ask as if they will survive despite the overall destruction of your shared planet.?

?What areas in your life and in your organization, can you cooperate more?? Have you been holding onto unhealthy elements of competition in your relationships and interactions that are dysfunctional?? What habits of cooperation are available for you and your organization to embrace?? How can you build cooperative relationships in your community?

?Theodore Roosevelt said “Comparison is the Thief of Joy” and I would expand this to include the notion that Competition can be the thief of joy as well.

?"And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."? - John F. Kennedy

?As we are faced with global health challenges and global military aggression, the need for compassion and cooperation has never been greater.?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqacrSa4jmA

(Jackson Browne “Before the Deluge”

Take care of yourself, your family, and your broader community, and have a safe weekend!

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