[...]... people to achieve shared goals and the benefit from doing so THE NEED TO COLLABORATE It is the new business mantra—collaborate, collaborate, collaborate But what is collaboration and why is everyone talking about it? Collaboration has many meanings, depending with whom you speak Some call collaboration the ability to work with others in distant locations just as you would if they were physically across... trying to satisfy and how to build a profitable business around satisfying that set of needs and wants This is the iterative process of building a business, developing relationships one interaction at a time In iterative relationships (and all relationships are iterative), each relationship starts with an assumption about the needs and wants the relationship is trying to satisfy and how the relationship... this collaboration, the U.S has structured value propositions with countries such as Pakistan that previously supported the Taliban Fearing instability, Pakistan offered information about, and access to, the Taliban and Afghanistan to the United States In return, the United States offered to lift previously ordered economic sanctions (imposed because of the testing of nuclear weapons), and Pakistan’s... as we call this role player the choreographer, we call the give and take of information, access, goods, services, and money between and among the trading partners and the customers the “dance.” Of course, one can say this dance with customers and businesses has always gone on And certainly this is true However, what is different today are the profound developments in information and communication technologies... country.“ What’s interesting is that during World War I and World War II, the word collaboration took on a sinister meaning It was used almost exclusively as cooperating with the enemy, and no one wanted to be accused of being a collaborator But that was then Today, collaboration is used more positively Both in business and in war, collaboration is viewed as essential for success Collaboration is considered... Fowkes, Lisa Guyon, Kari Johnson, Larry Kaye, John Kenney, John Tae Kim, Julia King, Tom Koulopoulos, Janet Kraus, John Ladge, Miroslav Maramica, Kevin McCall, Nathaniel Palmer, Chris Pisapia, Jeff Reichenthal, Carol Rozwell, Bob Russell, Carol Russell, Jerry Socol, Laurence Stybel, Teddy Tijan, Greg Walsh, Travis White, Jason Wong, and Joe Zarrett Our special relationship with Bentley College is enriched... same customer, thus dissipating their critical resources without a clear gain Today’s efficient businesses should use an iterative approach to discovering and satisfying the needs and wants of 1 ❘ The Collaboration Imperative 11 their customers And today the term customer not only means the traditional customer but every entity that interacts with you in a significant manner Of course, “The customer is. .. leaders hope that the lifting of sanctions will promote prosperity and political stability by easing the hardships of the Pakistani people ❚ The choreographer’s role is to build relationships by identifying value propositions that could exist between and among the parties Certainly, value propositions between nations are fluid and have always iterated as each nation learns more about how the other can... it takes to build collaborative relationships We offer our gratitude to our customers, friends, and supporters, who in many cases have allowed us to share their stories: Doug Adams, Jon Aram, Christina Bauer, John Bastow, Stephen Berman, Eric Bobby, Dale Boch, Buddy Carp, Warren Cohen, Fred Dearman, Tim DeMello, John Dewitt, Sherri Dorfman, Ann Fazio, David Fialkow, Jay Fialkow, Ellen Fanning, Darcy... first and only software that allows you to measure and manage the value of relationship currencies Heartfelt thanks to Gordie Earle of Arrayworks for helping us understand the requirements of the information infrastructure that support collaborative relationships xv xvi Acknowledgments A special thanks to Sonja Ali, who assists us in getting the words out by managing our marketing communications and . Ladge, Miroslav Maramica, Kevin McCall, Nathaniel Palmer, Chris Pis- apia, Jeff Reichenthal, Carol Rozwell, Bob Russell, Carol Russell, Jerry Socol, Laurence Stybel, Teddy Tijan, Greg Walsh, Travis White,. Dorfman, Ann Fazio, David Fialkow, Jay Fialkow, Ellen Fanning, Darcy Fowkes, Lisa Guyon, Kari Johnson, Larry Kaye, John Kenney, John Tae Kim, Julia King, Tom Koulopoulos, Janet Kraus, John Ladge, Miroslav. who in many cases have allowed us to share their stories: Doug Adams, Jon Aram, Christina Bauer, John Bastow, Stephen Berman, Eric Bobby, Dale Boch, Buddy Carp, Warren Cohen, Fred Dearman, Tim