Collaboration or Competition? Share your opinion…

I want to offer to start using this space for businesses to share information and practices that could raise the standards for how we do business.  My intention is that through collaboration and sharing of knowledge we increase the chances of success.  What’s inspired me is as I have moved around the country in the last ten years I see pockets of success with certain parts of a business, and found that information to be valuable to other businesses.  That was the reason I founded a roundtable discussion and what has become a NARI chapter,  seven years ago – I found contractors very interested in what other GC’s where doing, and they didn’t have a way to easily discover that. 

There are a few challenges with this… One problem is getting the right information out fast enough to everyone that needs it in a way that could make it useful.  Another one is the idea many have about competition with others, making sharing what works for you seem like a really bad idea.  Another might be the fear and doubt people have about what really does work, what you can do and what you can’t – what works for one company may not work for another!  These are all valid concerns, and I intend to explore them one at a time and see what makes more sense – collaborate or compete?  Your thoughts and ideas are most welcome…