Columnist

What does collaboration really mean in business?

The North East has always prided itself on its close-knit business community, wherein people know each other, readily share support and a conversation can quickly open a door. 

But being well connected is not necessarily the same as genuinely collaborating.

Collaboration might start at a networking event, but the real magic happens beyond the initial conversation.

It means sharing knowledge, making introductions and being willing to draw on the collective expertise around us, rather than trying to know or do everything ourselves.

That feels especially relevant as artificial intelligence changes how businesses operate. 

Technology can provide information, answer questions and take on more transactional tasks, but it cannot replace the expertise shared between colleagues, peers and trusted networks, particularly the experience and context that often help businesses make better decisions.

The North East has a strong foundation for doing such.

The Entrepreneurs’ Forum, for example, has long demonstrated the value of business owners learning from one another. 

There is a big difference between finding an answer to a business challenge and speaking to somebody who has actually navigated it, including the mistakes made and lessons learned along the way.

But collaboration does not happen by accident. 

There is something to be said for simply getting out there: attending the event, starting the conversation and meeting people beyond the businesses and sectors we already know. 

The best events lead to something tangible, but not everyone can be selective about which they attend. 

What matters is going in with a purpose. 

Even coming away with the name of one person you want to speak to again means making a connection that did not exist before.

Collaboration has been at the heart of how we have grown at Blu Sky within the tech sector for almost two decades. 

Our partnership with the Entrepreneurs’ Forum allows us to share our finance, investment and scale-up experience while learning from other business leaders. 

As a founding sponsor of the W Club at Newcastle Eagles, we are also part of another community that brings people together and creates new connections.

Communication underpins all of this. 

As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in working life and more interactions happen through a screen, skills such as listening, asking the right questions and building relationships will become increasingly important. 

Collaboration and competition can still coexist. 

Sharing expertise and opening doors for others can strengthen relationships and the wider business community.

There is an opportunity to take more of that thinking across the North East. 

The region has strengths spanning energy, technology, manufacturing, professional services and the creative industries. 

Greater crossover between those communities could bring different perspectives together, create new partnerships and open up opportunities that might otherwise be missed.

But those connections should not stop at the regional boundary. 

Many businesses in the North East operate nationally and internationally, giving them access to people, expertise and experiences that could add something different to the conversations happening in the region. 

The more we connect our regional networks with those elsewhere, the stronger and more diverse our business community can become.

As artificial intelligence becomes a bigger part of how we work, perhaps collaboration will become a greater differentiator. 

The North East already has the networks and expertise. 

The opportunity exists to make more of them, turning connections into meaningful collaboration and ensuring the human relationships behind business remain one of the region’s greatest strengths.

Jon Dudgeon is co-founder and chief executive of North Shields, Newcastle and London-based accountancy and business advisory firm Blu Sky

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