Friend or Foe?

Posted on Thursday, June 16, 2016 < 1 min read

At any time in the corporate world, we can be collaborating with our competitors or competing with our collaborators.  Your peers can be both, it just depends upon the situation.

In their book – Friend and Foe: “When to Cooperate, When to Compete, and How to Succeed at Both“,  psychologists Adam Galinsky and Maurice Schweitzer outline three tips to get the balance right:

1. Understand that all relationships have the potential to go either way – even with your spouse (competing careers) and your siblings.
2. Be conscious of what you are doing – just asking yourself whether you are competing or collaborating will make you aware.
3. Understand your power – Even ambiguous phrases, such as “I need to talk to you about something,” can freak you out, when spoken by a person in charge.

BNY’s view?  No such thing as co-opetition.  You are competing or collaborating.  Know what you are doing.  And always, be deliberate.

Tags: competing collaborating galinsky Schweitzer