One of the collaboration principles is to choose the relationship type to match the situation. At a high level, that choice is driven by the aligned objectives, the differences between them, and the nature of services or products, as discussed above. Three aspects of collaborative relationships are worth explaining in more detail:

• Developing trust,
• Collaborating as enemies, and
• Partnership is not a customer/supplier relationship model.

Developing Trust
Trust is a tricky topic, because of the challenge to make it specific and concrete. On the internet, countless publications on trust are just a click away, but for our purpose a few practical guidelines should be enough.

1. First, raise the level of awareness.

• Ensure stakeholders in your organization understand that the level of required trust depends on the nature of the service or product being delivered.
• Distribute a few relevant publications, run a workshop on trust, using real life examples to discuss what trust is, what builds and destroys it, and what different trust levels one could distinguish.
  
  

2. Second, do a trust due diligence.

• Assess the required trust level. Focus on behavior versus risk. This is about required predictability of desired behavior by organizations and individuals and the consequences of unwanted behavior. For example:
• Will the other party deliver on time, on budget and with the required quality level?
• What are the consequences if the other party fails?
• Will the other party behave in your interest when things go wrong?
• For the supplier: will the customer pay on time, without hassle? If things go wrong: what will the damage be?
  
  
• Now, how does the other party score on trust?
  
  
• You may want to use the NACCHO tool for assessing the required trust level and scoring actual collaboration parties.
• A caveat: make sure that the person you are dealing with has the backing of his or her organization. You don’t want personal commitments to end up being nothing more than talk.
  
  

3. Third, match it up.
   Make sure the expected trust levels are sufficient for the collaboration. If trust is too weak, try to boost trust levels, e.g. through gaining stronger sponsorship. It may take some time to deliver the required level. The alternative is to either seek another party or re-scope the contract so that it fits the actual trust level.
   
   
4. Fourth and finally, monitor and develop.
   Trust is not a fixed once-and-for-all agreed, mutual attitude. It needs ongoing attention and effort. We recommend monitoring trust levels regularly with all other aspects of the collaboration.
   
   

Collaborating as enemies (adversaries)

Not everyone is your friend; a close relationship is not always needed nor feasible for each collaboration. Chose the kind of collaboration that fits the nature and attitude of contracting parties, then move forward to collaborate as enemies — if that is appropriate.

For many people the idea of working together as “enemies” sounds absurd but it isn’t so.   Although in many industries it is customary to pretend that close and trusted relationships are the holy grail to strive for, the reality is that some relationships are more adverse by nature. When interests or objectives are conflicting between parties, without an alternative for collaboration, parties are forced to work together. Examples may include competitors forced into collaboration by rule-of-law, or customers in a vendor lock-in situation with monopolistic software suppliers that seek to maximize revenue and profit at all cost.

So, be prepared for adverse relationships. For every significant business relationship, conduct an analysis that includes the power balance, mutual dependencies and balance of interests and objectives. If this indicates that an adversarial relationship seems the most realistic option, don’t shy away from it. Rather organize yourself to best deal with it.

For starters, have adequate legal support in place, and tough negotiators for contracting and manage delivery in a controlled way.

Partnership is not a customer/supplier relationship model

Don’t blur the commercial customer/supplier relationship model that is inherently competitive with the friendly connotations of real partnerships built on shared interests and objectives.

Partnerships are not a true option for all commercial relationships, because shared interests, objectives and other conditions for partnering are usually lacking. If you think about your commercial relationship as a partnership, think again. If it meets the criteria for true partnership, call it a partnership and operate it as such. Otherwise, don’t, and make sure you deal with the potential tension and friction that may come with differing interests or objectives.