Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights.
Innovation is the watchword, particularly in today's environment of fast-paced change attributed to AI. But while AI is leading to rapid change in countless industries, it still can't fully replicate or replace the true fuel behind lasting innovative growth: collaboration.
Technology opens up new opportunities, but purposeful partnerships that build on a shared vision and commitment are what ultimately takes any innovative efforts to the level they need to succeed.
Perhaps the biggest reason why collaboration can fuel innovation is because of the inherent value of bringing together a wide range of perspectives.
The process of bringing together diverse perspectives where ideas are challenged and refined is known as creative abrasion -- a term that originated from Jerry Hirshberg when he was head of design at Nissan.
I had a chance to unpack the why bringing together people from diverse perspectives yields such good results in an interview with Natalie Nixon, PhD -- an expert on helping companies improve their innovation. Nixon shared, "The friction generated by diverse teams can ignite innovative solutions, turning potential conflicts into creative opportunities. When individuals from different backgrounds and with varied perspectives come together, their differing viewpoints can lead to creative abrasion."
Nixon continued, "This dynamic can spur innovation and lead to breakthrough solutions that might not have been possible in a more homogeneous team. Embracing creative abrasion encourages a culture of innovation and continuous improvement."
Collaborators who value diverse perspectives ultimately get greater buy-in and engagement from those within their respective organizations. As research from Gallup notes, greater employee engagement increases organizational citizenship and participation by 22%, while increasing wellbeing by an incredibly 70%. With greater productivity and engagement, each individual becomes more likely to contribute their perspective and add value to the collaboration.
Another essential reason to collaborate is because it can dramatically enhance the scalability of your innovative efforts. By combining resources, time and talents, collaborators are able to expand their productivity far beyond what they would have been able to achieve on their own. This means getting to market faster, targeting more audiences and other outcomes that are essential for lasting success.
Teamwork can especially accelerate scale when paired with financial know-how. In a podcast interview with Entrepreneurs on Fire, Adam Kroener, a nine figure CEO in his own right, shared how mastering financial fundamentals alongside strategic team dynamics have fostered sustained innovation and growth:
"We have tracked everything to the nth degree...we knew where our money was coming in from, and then each dollar we were spending, we knew very well where it was going. That has always remained very important to me, so even now as we scale the business, our operational forecast is very intense. Every month, I review and understand where the money went out to and where the money's coming in from, so we can basically build a machine where we know which levers to pull."
As this example shows, the right team dynamics and shared knowledge ensure that scaling doesn't just happen quickly, but that it also happens in a sustainable fashion. The best collaborators make up for each others' weaknesses while also building upon shared strengths to make this possible.
The most effective collaborations aren't just focused on that initial burst of innovation. Collaborators who consciously devise win-win collaborations are vested in each other's success in a way that ensures innovation becomes much more than a one-off initiative.
A case study of EY and ISS's strategic outsourcing partnership in the Nordics illustrates how changing the nature of your relationship to focus on mutually defined outcomes can drive innovation. The companies shifted from a conventional transactional contract to create a strategic partnership where they purposefully collaborate on innovation initiatives.
A good example of this is the Tech Lobby initiative. The EY IT department was experiencing a high volume of tech-related end-user questions such as setting up laptops, handing out chargers and phones and solving a wide range of relatively simple Tier 1 IT issues. However, with some training, many of these requests could be fulfilled by a less expensive ISS team member.
The idea was for ISS to create a highly visible and service-minded Tech Lobby to support the "First Line of IT."
Thanks to this innovations, EY employees can now receive assistance at the Tech Lobby instead of submitting an online ticket. The Tech Lobby proved to be less expensive while also enabling EY staff to return to work quicker. Since launching, the Tech Lobby services have expanded to include almost 90% of end-user IT-related tasks.
EY's Claus Christensen -- Head of Workplace Experience for EY's Nordic countries -- comments on the win-win nature of their strategic partnership with ISS in the case study: "EY saves money because we don't need high-end IT people to solve basic tech issues; end users get quicker service and are happier; and ISS wins with expanded service and higher revenue. It's a win-win Pony that is simple but brilliant."
There's no denying that AI and other tech advances are fueling innovative growth in their own right. But in the midst of all the excitement about AI, leaders cannot afford to overlook collaboration's lasting, powerful role as the fuel for true innovation.
By drawing from diverse perspectives and skill sets and creating win-win relationships, you will establish the necessary framework to turn those ideas into viable business solutions and continually iterate and improve on them. Technology can and will provide valuable assistance—but that human-led perspective and collaboration should always be the foundation.