Business and the United Nations: turning demons into angels

http://www.sdgfund.org/business-and-un

The above is a recent report which explores how the UN's relationship with business needs to change.

What stands out for me is the power of changing our perspective.

If the UN begins to see the business sector and its people, ideas and resources as part of the solution to the world's economic, environmental and social problems rather than part of their cause, the UN's relationship with the business sector will quickly change in some very powerful ways. Here are four of them:

• Business will be partnered with rather than kept at arm's length    
• Business will fully participate in initiatives rather than simply donate to initiatives
• Business will be listened to and valued rather than preached at and discounted
• Business will be encouraged to make good things happen rather than regulated to ensure bad things do not happen

There are, of course, difficulties associated with seeing things in the above way. The past, recent and ongoing bad behaviour of many well-known companies, banks and other business institutions raises serious questions about how much anyone (not only the UN) can see them as organisations that can be trusted and worked with. For some, trusting and working with these organisations probably feels like inviting a particularly vicious species of commercial vampire into the family business; better to keep them at least at arm's length, even better staked out and regulated, rather than embraced, infused with new partners' knowledge and resources and gifted new commercial opportunities to feast upon.

But how much does our common perception of the business sector contribute to its behaviour? If we see business as part of the problem does it eventually become part of the problem? Does keeping business at arm's length encourage business to be secretive and cunning and conniving in its attempts to gain access to new markets and new money making opportunities? Does encouraging donations rather than participation provide business with a ready made cloak of apparent good intentions that is an all too tempting camouflage for less than good intentions? Does being preached at and discounted create a steadily growing resentment fuelling a need to get noticed, get even and 'get one over'? Does regulating to stop business doing bad things encourage business to find new and innovative ways to do bad things?

Have we created, at least to some extent, our own business demons? Would changing our perspective begin the process of transforming them into angels?

Bite-size pieces: meet on their patch

'Meeting partners on their own patch and at times that fit in with their day to day activities can of itself go a long way towards building trust, gaining better social and cultural understanding, and appreciating differing expectations and communication needs. It will also highlight the practical challenges presented by the locality and environment within which the partnership is working.' 

From Sleeping with the Enemy - Achieving Collaborative Success:
          
For more details click here.

Collaboration in the oil and gas industries: success factors and foundation factors

Collaborative_relationships_in_the_UK_upstream_oil_and_gas_industry_critical_success_and_failure_factors

The above paper is an old one but it still has lots of value for those interested in collaboration.  

It suggest to me that part of the challenge for the oil and gas industries is about recognising that its justified organisational pride and attitude of self-reliance could hinder its approach to collaboration: I find it interesting that things like training, using an external facilitator and having previous experience of collaboration are not rated highly by the industries as success factors for collaboration.

Any organisation or sector could perhaps benefit from asking itself if the pride it feels in its track record and its attitude of self-reliance are limiting the effectiveness of its decisions about collaborative working.            

Also, the suggestion that the absence of some factors (absence of leadership; absence of fair allocation of risks, rewards and profits; presence of non-addressed cultural differences; and absence of willingness to change) can cause dissatisfaction and failure but that their presence will not necessarily lead to satisfaction and success is insightful and important. It is the first time I have sensed the ghost of Herzberg haunting the modern realms of collaboration.

This insight suggests that collaborations could gain much by drawing partners' attention not just towards success factors for collaboration but also towards what could be called 'foundation factors' for collaboration: those factors that if present will support the success factors, but if absent will undermine them.

Bite-size pieces: emergent

'One of the key responsibilities of the hub of a partnership is to spot, encourage and develop emergent leadership. It is a common trait of partnerships that as their work develops so too do the partners themselves. Those that perhaps started on the fringes of a partnership can begin to exhibit a particular affinity, passion, or expertise for a specific area of the partnership’s work. Once identified, such individuals or organisations need to be encouraged further into the partnership to take up leadership roles consistent with their skills, abilities, motivations and passions.'

From Sleeping with the Enemy - Achieving Collaborative Success:
          
For more details click here.

Bite-size pieces: newness

'Focusing upon newness minimises the defensive mind set created by focusing upon competitors well established interests, activities and markets. It encourages competitors to band together and launch a combined offensive targeted at identifying and exploiting new and potentially lucrative opportunities, safe in the knowledge that their existing interests are unlikely to be threatened by those with which they are collaborating (at least for the duration of the current alliance).'

From Sleeping with the Enemy - Achieving Collaborative Success:
          
For more details click here.

Bite-size pieces

'Eradicating poverty in the world is a wonderful but massive goal that companies feel is too vague and out of reach. Key to engagement is breaking down objectives into concrete steps, into bite-size pieces.'

Blanca Hernandez Rodriguez - Chairperson EBRO FOUNDATION   

'Adding the additional step of interim outcomes makes the audit trail between what a partnership can deliver and its high level aspirational outcomes clearer to follow. This makes the attribution of cause and effect less arguable.'

From Sleeping with the Enemy - Achieving Collaborative Success:
          
For more details click here.

Bite-size pieces: flock thinking

Flock thinking occurs when:

‘Every individual within a group is influential and can have an effect upon decisions reached, but (for various and variable reasons) certain individuals are more influential than others and the rest of those present accept this.’

 

From Sleeping with the Enemy - Achieving Collaborative Success:
          
For more details click here.