Can’t we all just get along?

An idea was introduced in my strategic marketing class that was reiterated again in a book I’m reading. The concept is this…competitors working together…collaborating on projects together in order to satisfy consumer need.

You would think the last thing competitors would want to do is huddle up and work with someone who is interested in your customer. Why would Coke ever work with Pepsi? Why would HP share what it knows with Dell?

One answer…survival (also called collaboration for sustainability).

Businesses understand this.

This mindset says, I don’t see you so much as a threat but as someone who can help me better reach my audience and/or improve industry processes.

I wondered if this thinking has trickled down to the rest of us?

If I were to use Facebook status updates as a gauge I would have to say no.

It seems that there’s a lot of paranoia and a lot of intimidation out there. We prefer to work solo because:

• We’re afraid someone may see our weaknesses and vulnerabilities
• They may steal from us
• We’ve adopted the mentality…I got mine…you get yours

Granted there are some unscrupulous cats out there but this is not true of everyone. There are good people in Christiandom and in the marketplace. People you can collaborate with on projects to help bring your vision to pass and you theirs. No one has all the answers. Yes there will be people who know more than you do but that’s no reason to isolate yourself.

• There’s no need to be intimated by another ministry.
• There’s no need to be intimidated by another preacher.
• There’s no need to be intimidated by someone who works in the same business/industry as you. I heard the most wonderful story of a jewelry designer who took another jewelry designer under her wing and shared what she knew. 

Businesses are embracing this concept; and some have operated by this principle for a number of years.

Can we as the Body of Christ grasp this concept?

Can local assemblies come together and create change in shared neighborhoods?

Can Christian businesses collaborate together and meet marketplace demands?

Can fear, intimidation, self-deprecation and “crab mentality” be erased from among us?

Just a thought.