Don’t be a lone ranger!

“Moving alone is the greatest peril of the snake. If the cobra was in front, followed by the puff adder, girded by the rattlesnake and the python on either side, the lethal combination of venom from that company will put the fear of God in anyone who toys with the idea of killing a snake.” – a Yoruba proverb.

Collaboration is the backbone of development. Even nature teaches us that. Chlorine is poisonous. So is sodium. Nobody would dare pour any of these two elements by itself into his food. But when chlorine is combined with sodium, it produces sodium chloride, also known as table salt, an indispensable enhancer of taste when applied to food. Nobody can quench his thirst with hydrogen or oxygen. When both gases combine, the product is water, an indispensable commodity for the sustenance of life on our planet.

Nothing in creation was designed to be totally self-sufficient. Everything in creation finds its greatest value by combining with something else. This is the basis of genuine progress. The principle of “ikigai” or “life essence,” adduced as a reason for the unusually long-life expectancy of the Okinawa community in Japan, is anchored on strong communal relationships where everyone is constantly in simultaneous pursuit of personal and collective happiness. Man was never created to function alone. Even God did not pull off the creation feat alone. He did so in concert with the Godhead, known in Christian circles as the Trinity.

No society makes significant progress when its citizens are self-preoccupied. The agrarian economy of the southern part of Nigeria prospered very significantly in time past because of what was known as the “aaro” concept. This is a system whereby people in the community took turns to work on one another’s farms. By virtue of this communal input, people could boast of cheap labour because all they had to do was provide some form of refreshment in line with what they could afford for the people who came to work on their farm. The spin-off was that people could farm larger expanses of land with minimum stress while making food abundant and affordable to the entire community. My grandfather had over forty hectares of farmland, part of which he leased out to some families in the community, who in turn periodically helped him on his own farm. I grew up knowing him to be a very prosperous man who had no other business apart from his farm, which provided everything that his large family and the coterie of hangers-on ate daily. I can vividly recollect that on a good day, no less than 20 people ate or slept under his roof!

Businesses grow bigger by synergy. It is the reason for mergers. Partnerships and outsourcing help to minimise risk and to free time and resources to focus on the essentials of the business. In trying to save costs by doing everything and owning everything, growth is stifled because, no matter how strong or skilled he is, an individual can only do so much. The leaders that work best work with teams. You cannot become more by working alone. You increase capacity by working through and with others. One of the major reasons for the high attrition rate of businesses in the developing world is the inability to synergise. Most entrepreneurs in developing economies want to fully own their enterprise without sharing stakes in it with anyone. At the same time, they want to own all the factors of production. They would rather reinvent the wheel than leverage on existing capacity to develop what they really have competence for.

There are three major reasons why people want to own everything about a business. The first is that for many, ownership of a business is more of an ego thing than a purpose thing. The proud feeling of being known as Managing Director even when there is practically nothing to manage or direct helps to give people a delusional sense of importance. Diluting that space or sharing it with anyone is therefore unthinkable. Yet, it is better to own one percent of something that is working well and growing than to own 100 percent of nothing!

The second reason is that sometimes, especially at the start of the business, resources are limited. When you operate in an environment where banks are not too favourably disposed to supporting start-ups, you want to manage what is available by doing as much as you can, all by yourself. This is understandable but should not become the standard. If you want to significantly scale the business, you must build the collaboration principle into your operations as soon as practicable.

The third reason borders on trust. There are many people who do not trust even their own shadow, sometimes because they themselves know what they could do if they were in the other person’s position. Anyone who himself has the tendency to be untrustworthy is like the fabled decapitator who detests anybody playing with a knife around him! In a society where trust is generally a scarce commodity, suspicion rules the space. Collaboration never thrives in an atmosphere devoid of trust and loyalty to a common cause.

The Bible is a book of collaboration. Although it is one book with a central theme, it was written by different men at different times and generations. God collaborated to create man. After Adam was created and became functional, God Himself said it was not a good thing for him to work alone. He introduced him to collaboration by bringing him a woman called Eve to collaborate with him. Noah collaborated with others to build the ark. The principle of delegation was introduced to human history by a man named Jethro, the heathen father-in-law of Moses when he saw the latter bogged down with both the spiritual and administrative duties of leading almost two million people in the wilderness. Moses received the template and design for the tabernacle. But he was not a builder. He had to engage the services of Bezaleel and Aholiab. Without Aaron, Hur, Joshua and Caleb working with him, Moses would never have succeeded in his leadership. Even though He was anointed and worked miracles, Jesus did not work alone. He accomplished His assignment with two groups of disciples, the 12 and the 70! If God who created all things worked in collaboration, how do you the creature think you would succeed alone?

Have you ever seen a comet? Comets are bright, distinct flashing stars, unmistakable in their appearance, but they don’t endure. Their manifestation is sporadic and transient. Be distinct in excellence but never become a lone star. A lone star may stand out temporarily, but it takes a constellation to consistently brighten the skies.

Success is not about what one man does. It is about what one man can do with others. Collaboration is the ingredient that makes success sustainable. We rise by lifting others. The splendour of a king is sustained by the strength of his troops. People are the blood of meaningful enterprise. No matter how smart or distinct you may be, to be of significant value, don’t just work for or through people. Work WITH people.

Distinction without collaboration may end in extinction.

Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!

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