Expert view: Broker networks can help you achieve your dream

Collaboration has constantly been demonstrated to be a successful way of achieving great outcomes. Collaboration can be defined as:

“Two people or organizations coming together, to build off one another and create something amazing — they create their legacy”.

Over time there have been some famous collaborations that very much fit this bill; Rolls & Royce, Lennon & McCartney; Allen & Gates and even Ben & Jerry. All have been people who have come together to create something and, in these cases, have left a mark on all our lives.

Collaboration is not consolidation, takeover, coalition or any other phrase that means there is a dominant partner, and should not be confused with these terms. Collaboration gives you the opportunity to work with peers to deliver a common goal. Collaboration gives you the power to control how you work with people who have common views and aspirations, and inspires your enthusiasm to achieve. Collaboration widens your perspective to embrace more opportunities that you first thought.

Broker networks

As an independent regional broker what can the act of collaboration bring to you? It can deliver the strength of a potentially larger group, enhanced skillsets, greater capability, wider offerings and better buying power. Collaboration will feed the entrepreneurial nature within you. It will also enable you to widen the spectrum of opportunity you may wish to consider as you look for the next strand to add to your business.

Your choice of partner(s) should be selected carefully; after all you wouldn’t want to be an example of what have also been some quite disastrous alliances. Daimler Benz & Chrysler merged in 1998 at $37 billion; Chrysler was sold in 2007 for $7 billion, a loss per year of over $3 billion for nine years! Whilst your collaboration may not quite be of this scale, you can be sure that the reasons behind the failure could be very relevant to you. Fear to confront issues; poor communication; unclear role definition; no defined time expectation; lack of ultimate goals; emotional encumbrance and failure to execute an idea can all contribute to failure.

Collaboration is about building an opportunity together; it will be hard work, but the right collaboration will share the workload. Your partner must challenge as well as inspire you; there must also be respect and desire to achieve a common goal.

A Network gives you a beneficial partner option and can be as much of your business as you want it to be. A good Network will recognise your independence, but will give you the peer challenge you need for business growth. A good Network can provide the extra assets you need to achieve and grow. A good Network can provide help for your sales campaigns, training & development, optimising your business opportunities, access to specialist resources plus much more. A good Network is a partner who understands your business, your industry and what you want to achieve.

A good Network can be the perfect collaborative partner.

Find out more about how collaboration with us could help your business at Willis Towers Watson Networks Open Day at the Midland Hotel, Manchester, on May 10th.