Small Business Today Magazine JAN 2015 AIM GLOBAL LOGISTICS | Page 21

• An industry alliance creates a lobbying arm or public awareness campaign. • Multiple companies find that doing business in a new country is easier when a consortium operates. • Hardware, software, and component producers revolutionizing the next generation of technology. • Scientists, per research program. • Educators, in the creation and revision of curriculum materials. • Distribution centers and networks for retail products. • Aerospace contractors and subcontractors with NASA. • Telecommunications industry service providers. • Construction industry general contractors, subcontractors, and service providers in major building projects. • Group marketing programs, such as auto dealer clusters, municipalities for economic development, travel and tourism destinations, trade association, and product image upgrades. • International trade development, including research, marketing, relocation, negotiations, and lobbying.   Characteristics of a Good Collaborator: • Already has a sense of self-worth. • Has a bona fide track record. • Has a commitment toward knowledge enhancement. • Walks the talk by their interactions with others. • Supports collaborators in developing their own businesses and offering referrals. • Has been on other teams in the past and has case studies of actual collaborations. • Has successes and failures to their credit with an understanding of the causal factors, outcomes, and lessons learned.   Benefits for participating principals and firms include: • Ongoing association and professional exchange with the best in respective fields. • Utilize professional synergy to create opportunities that individuals could not. • Serve as a beacon for professionalism. • Provide access to experts otherwise not known to potential clients. • Refer and cross-sell each other’s services. • Through demands uncovered, develop programs and materials to meet markets.   Hank Moore has advised over 5,000 client organizations including public sector agencies, small businesses, non-profit organizations, and 100 of the Fortune 500.  Contact Hank by phone at 713-668-0664, by email at [email protected], or visit his website at www.hankmoore.com.   EDITORIALFEATURE