KBB - October 2015 - 14

BETTER BUSINESS

Strength through Collaboration
Five lessons learned from creating Design & Construction Week
Collaborating with entities outside of your organization - including
competitors - is an idea whose time has come. As a founding member
of the highly successful new Design & Construction Week®, the National
Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) truly believes that collaboration is
better than isolation when it comes to innovating new products and new
solutions that delight customers.
Working with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), we have
led the way in evolving the industry trade show model to create real value
for exhibitors and attendees. By co-locating our two trade shows, the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) and the International Builders' Show (IBS),
the NAHB and NKBA created a platform that has attracted other associations and shows, as well as more than 100,000 combined attendees in 2015.
Without question, the recession was the driver behind a need to innovate a new model for in-person trade events, but this collaboration likely
would not have happened all that many years ago. Following the "old"
way of doing business, the NKBA and NAHB would likely have stayed within our own organizations to develop new events. Only by working together

2. Find One Place to Start. Don't shy away from a big, audacious
idea, but keep it to one idea to start. The NKBA and NAHB kept our focus on creating the best attendee experience, as well as the exhibits,
of course. We did not attempt to integrate learning (conference) programming or events related to our shows. We didn't want to slow down
or possibly get stuck by introducing complexity to what we wanted to
achieve. Keep it simple.
3. Connect as Individuals. Find ways to meet in person. Face-to-face
is the best way to rapidly build trust and alignment. It also happens to
be one of most important benefits of our annual trade shows. That is not
coincidence, by the way; it's how business gets done.
Related to this: There is a time and place for lawyers to represent their
clients' interests. Over-reliance on having legal professionals orchestrate the
collaboration could be more complicated than having key executives from
each entity speaking directly. Your appetite for risk will vary. Set the rules for
engagement up front with your teams and among your collaborators.

Collaborating with entities outside of your organization - including competitors -
is an idea whose time has come.
could we deliver this groundbreaking new offering to the industry, and it is
a better product than either of us could have ever created on our own. In
fact, Biz Bash just listed Design & Construction Week among just nine total
trade shows in their list of top 100 U.S. events.
It took courage and foresight for the NKBA and NAHB leadership to
sit down together and explore the possibilities. Although in many ways,
we were better prepared than corporations for such a collaboration because we're trade associations: It's what we do. We know how to sit across
the table from a competitor to focus on a specific mission. Interestingly,
Michael E. Porter, a Harvard Business School professor, and Willis Emmons,
now a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, both referred to trade
associations as "Institutions for Collaboration" a little more than a decade
ago in Harvard Business Review.
In this article, I'd like to share five key learnings the NKBA believes are
crucial for successful collaborations.

1. Identify Your Business Case First. Before your first meeting with your
potential collaborator, make sure your team is aligned with the potential
benefits and opportunities for your organization. Why do this? What are
the risks and uncertainties if we do this? What are the risks if we do not do
this? What can be compromised? What cannot be compromised?

K+BB

4. Don't Overthink Friction. Friction isn't a sign of problems; it's a given. It usually isn't enough to derail the collaboration unless it takes your
focus off the goals. Don't put too much into resolving conflict. Keep the
focus on the solution you are creating together.
5. Set SMART Goals and Metrics. The best way to avoid serious conflict is to set measurable objectives for the collaboration. Actually write
down specifics of what you want to accomplish, the desired timing and
the responsible party. Do it for every meeting. When conflict arises, return
to your goals to determine a resolution. Establish next steps and clear
expectations at the end of each meeting.
In 1963, a manufacturer's representative wrote a letter to the forerunner of this magazine calling for improvements in the kitchen industry that
"could be established only through the cooperative efforts of many." That
letter, a call-to-action bringing together colleagues, customers, vendors
and competitors, spurred the creation of what is now the NKBA. Collaboration can clearly be a competitive advantage. As Design & Construction
Week proves, it's hard to beat the cooperative efforts of many. n

October 2015 / www.kbbonline.com / The Official Sponsor of KBIS www.kbis.com

- By Bill Darcy, NKBA CEO

http://www.kbbonline.com http://www.kbis.com

KBB - October 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of KBB - October 2015