Together we are unstoppable

Alliances and collaboration are important in both personal, professional, and business environments. We can achieve so much more by adopting a mindset of relentless collaboration and alliance-building than we can ever hope to achieve individually.

It is paramount for us to find opportunities for alliances and cultivate them. From professional mentors to neighboring businesses partnering to public-private partnerships, everyone can benefit by working with others to achieve goals that might be unattainable on their own. High-functioning individuals and organizations leverage their networks to grow their impact.

The relationship must be two-way. Have something to offer. Don’t go into a meeting with a potential partner with nothing to provide; you won’t get far and will most likely be minimalized behind your back. Ask, receive, give back, and repeat as needed. Understand what you have to offer, there are more valuable things than fists full of cash like contacts, referrals, and expertise that companies need.

Collaboration leads to greater creativity and innovation because it allows individuals to share ideas and build upon each other's strengths. When people work together, they can brainstorm new ideas, come up with new approaches to problems, and push each other to think outside the box. These alliances allow for innovation and problem-solving that can never be accomplished individually.

Collaboration can foster better relationships between individuals and groups. By working together, people can build trust and respect for each other's skills and perspectives, which can lead to stronger relationships and greater cooperation in the future.

Despite the obvious benefits of building partnerships, we see less and less collaboration and more and more division today. Collaboration and a willingness to work together is harder than ever. That includes the government working with the private sector to address community challenges that improve communities and livability.

The lack of collaboration manifests in our political divide, as evidenced by candidates for political office who back laws seeking to punish businesses for cultural or political stances. A recent poll from Reuters/Ipsos shows that 73% of people, including 82% of Democrats and 63% of Republicans, say they are less likely to support a candidate for political office who backs laws designed to punish a company for its political or cultural stances. This is a good thing, as three out of four Americans recognize that collaboration and alliances are vital to our economic stability.

The unfortunate news from this poll? We have reached the point where 18% of Democrats and 37% of Republicans support weaponizing government and punishing a company for expressing political or cultural views. Put another way, if the business expresses disagreement, the government is now going to punish you and 27% of people choose to side with government tyranny over private business. Regardless of your political leanings, the government punishing businesses for their political views should be widely condemned. Punishing a business is not an effective mechanism for collaboration and problem-solving.

Collaboration is needed because private industry often has expertise and resources that government may not possess. By working together private industry and government can leverage each other’s expertise and access resources that can help achieve community goals more effectively.

Public-private partnerships have been proven to be an effective way to achieve common goals. By sharing risks, costs, and rewards, both government and private industry can benefit from these partnerships.

How do we move forward? It’s easy. Our path forward is relentless collaboration, alliance-building, and public-private partnerships, not by weaponizing government against businesses by adding to the division that exists in society.

Chris Romer is president & CEO of Vail Valley Partnership, the regional chamber of commerce. Learn more at VailValleyPartnership.com