During one our game nights, my wife, sister, brother-in-law and I decided to play Monopoly. In a short span of time, I managed to secure the most expensive properties on the board. I also had enough cash remaining to put houses on them. To make matters more challenging for the other players, everyone landed on my property making me exceedingly wealthy.

The other properties were scattered evenly among everyone else. Seeing this, my wife had an idea. She suggested to the other players, “Why don’t we trade properties so that we all have a monopoly?” Her suggestion was repeatedly ignored as no one wanted to give up their properties in exchange for another.

Even though her suggestion wouldn’t have worked in my favor, I commended her for the thought. By collaborating, it would’ve given every player a better chance of winning and whilst depleting my dominance. She thoroughly explained the strategy, still, no one listened. 

As fate would have it, everyone kept landing on my property, which eventually had hotels on them. I eventually acquired all of their property as they became increasingly unable to pay rent. Slowly but surely, their wealth deteriorated until they each had to exit the game. I eventually ended up with most of those properties and roughly 99% of the money.

At the end of the game, we talked about how differently the game might have been if the other players had decided to collaborate. The wealth would’ve been more evenly spread and everyone would’ve had a better chance of winning. Working together can be far more effective than working alone. 

How does this apply to your business? Think of the resources you lack currently. Think of the resources others may lack around you. Is there any crossover where you might be able to benefit each other? Maybe a merger of endeavors would serve you better. 

Large companies do mergers all the time, either to prevent competition, shore up weaknesses and/or to become more competitive. Sprint and T-Mobile merged to give themselves a better edge. Disney merged/acquired Hulu and ESPN. Facebook acquired Instagram and others to boost its competitive edge. Airlines often merge to stay afloat. General Motors, hence the name, is the result of a merger between several large car manufacturers. This is only a few examples. These sort of transactions happen often. Maybe you should consider a merger. If it means survival or growth, it may be well worth the time and effort.

There are things other than resources that you’d have to consider such as personality mix, debt obligations, strengths and weaknesses, etc. Our visions also may not align with others. Sometimes there might even be conflict of interest. In such cases, opt to not partner. However, if you find the perfect match, don’t let pride of being sole owner prevent you from pursuit. As one consultant put it, “50% of something beats 100% of nothing any day of the week. 

It’s understood that we’re in a highly individualistic culture and may tend to want to venture out like the Lone Ranger. I’m reminded of words from the Book of Deuteronomy that states, “One can put a thousand to flight, but two can put ten thousand to flight.” Basically, like-minded people working together on a common goal and vision can be far greater than working alone. We shouldn’t value our individualism so much that we completely ignore the power of collectivism. Sometimes working together is the only way to even the playing field.

Written by: 

Eric L. Lipsey | Founder | Owner 

VENTRE Capital, Inc.

www.VentreCapital.com