14.04.2015
Leading and shaping cooperations
that was the motto of the 5th Forum on April 14th, 2015.
Four stimulus speakers reported on their handling of start-up and control of business cooperations and partnerships. What are the success criteria…
… for cooperation projects with external partners in the context of the Fujitsu international Alliance programme and for the coffee fair trade concept of the 4C Association? And what has been working for Telekom in dealing with internal partners for creating a unified European mobile network or for Zurich in the area ofLearning for the Insurance Industry? Despite the high diversity of sectors, markets, general conditions and volumes – all four impulse talks emphasized the importance of the creation of trust-based relationships between the cooperation partners. When organising these set-ups, the companies took care of this aspect by creating separate functions and responsibilities for which, instead of using a traditional exercise of power, the focus of activity is on a control via networking, mediating and managing relationships with and among the partners.
Uwe Schöpe emphasized that for him the design of good personal relationships with internal and external cooperation partners of Zurich is just as important as safeguarding by extensive written contracts. Melanie Rutten-Sülz pointed out that in the sustainable coffee market, it is key for successful partnerships to take time for a thorough stakeholder analysis when starting cooperation projects, and to be open throughout to the needs of partners and members of the 4C Association. The Fujitsu case example (Annette Kuhn) showed that imparting the added value for the partners involved is one of the prerequisites for successful cooperation projects. Carina Muskolus pointed out that personal motivation of internal staff with regard to participation in Telekom’s innovative cooperation and development project greatly contributes to positive collaboration. In particular in a situation where the individual partners and countries are also in competition with each other, it is important to take up concerns of participants fair-mindedly and demonstrate the overall benefit of such a project for all parties involved.
To summarize the evening can be said that the organisation of good cooperative relationships, especially in international contexts, requires all participants to deploy a large and diverse scope of professional and social expertise. Participants must be able to pursue their local interest, and at the same time, to take a viewpoint directed at and for the entire system, again and again. Doing so, they must be able to not only recognise the added value for all parties involved but also to impart this insight to the cooperation partners. Finding and training such people is the great challenge for the future, that was the Forum visitors’ unanimous opinion.
Stimulus speakers this time were:
- Annette Kuhn | Head of Alliance Program, Fujitsu Global Alliances Düsseldorf
- Carina Muskolus| VP HR Business Partner, Telekom Bonn
- Melanie Rutten-Sülz | Executive Director, 4C Association Bonn
- Uwe Schöpe | Group Head of Learning Services, Zurich Group Germany Bonn
