In the collaboration module, Pr. Hansen has formalized the way companies can go from bad collaboration to disciplined collaboration by reducing four types of barriers. The four authors of The New Arithmetic of Collaboration formalize the steps that goes from undisciplined collaboration to disciplined collaboration and the benefit you can reap from climbing the “collaboration ladder”. It is a useful complement to the 4 barriers theory: Highlighting that there are indeed different levels of collaboration with corresponding drawbacks and benefits addresses the misconception that collaboration is a panacea to any company’s problems. It may also provide a “horizon” for implementing collaboration as a corporate strategy. The paper focuses on partnership between companies, yet the theory is applicable to various business unit across a single company.
The authors perceives four rungs for the collaboration ladder: collaboration as a zero-sum game (accidental engagement, 1+1<2), unadventurous collaboration (Transactional cooperation, 1+1=2), win-win collaboration (Intentional collaboration, 1+1=3) and what could be defined as disciplined collaboration (1+1=11). How these rungs are defined is still fuzzy but I find interesting the imagery of climbing a collaboration ladder.
The author’s theory has also been applied to policy, for example, the recent trip of President Obama to India.
