The Collaboration Challenge: How Nonprofits and Businesses Succeed through Strategic Alliances(Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum)

Presented by The Drucker Foundation "Austin has uncovered the common elements and key strategies that make for effective collaborations.... In The Collaboration Challenge, he illuminates these key lessons for all leaders, and makes it possible for each of us to meet the collaboration challenge." --Frances Hesselbein, chairman of the board of governors, The Drucker Foundation, and John C. Whitehead, founder, The John C. Whitehead Fund for Not-for-Profit Management, Harvard Business School "Austin has performed a valuable service for nonprofit organizations and their corporate partners by illuminating the dynamics of successful relationships. His useful book deserves to be widely read by leaders in both sectors concerned about increasing the effectiveness of their social action agenda." --Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School, author of World Class and Rosabeth Moss Kanter on the Frontiers of Management "The entire nonprofit sector has been searching for the expertise and tools this book provides. Nothing else like it exists." --Bill Shore, executive director of Share-Our-Strength and author of The Cathedral Within and Revolution of the Heart In these complex times, when no organization can succeed alone, nonprofits and businesses are embracing collaboration for mutual benefits. Nonprofits are partnering with businesses to further their missions, develop resources, strengthen programs, and thrive in the competitive world. Companies are also discovering that alliances with nonprofits generate significant rewards: increased customer preference, improved employee morale, greater brand identity, stronger corporate culture, and higher innovation. In this timely and insightful book, James E. Austin provides a practical framework for understanding how traditional philanthropic relationships can be transformed into powerful strategic alliances. He offers advice and lessons drawn from the experiences of numerous collaborations, including Timberland and City Year; Starbucks and CARE; Georgia-Pacific and The Nature Conservancy; MCI WorldCom and The National Geographic Society; Reebok and Amnesty International; and Hewlett-Packard and the National Science Resource Center. Readers will learn how to: * Find and connect with high-potential partners * Ensure strategic fit with the partner's mission and values * Generate greater value for each partner and society * Manage the partnering relationship effectively Click here to read Chapter 8, Guidelines for Collaborating Successfully.

Table of Contents:
Foreword vii Frances Hesselbein and John C. Whitehead Preface xi 1. The Strategic Benefits of Alliances 1 2. Understanding Strategic Collaboration 19 3. Making the Connection 41 4. Ensuring Strategic Fit 61 5. Generating Value 87 6. Managing the Relationship 121 7. Collaboration Drivers and Enablers: Jumpstart and American Eagle Outfitters 147 8. Guidelines for Collaborating Successfully 173 Notes 189 The Author 193 Index 195

About the Author :
JAMES E. AUSTIN is the John G. McLean Professor of Business Administration and Chair of the Harvard Business School Initiative onSocial Enterprise.

Review :
"Austin has uncovered the common elements and key strategies that make for effective collaborations.... He gained unprecedented access to the decision makers who instituted and managed these alliances and who provide firsthand accounts of their successes, trials, and lessons learned.... In The Collaboration Challenge, he illuminates these key lessons for all leaders, and makes it possible for each of us to meet the collaboration challenge." —Frances Hesselbein, chairman of the board of governors, The Drucker Foundation, and John C. Whitehead, founder, The John C. Whitehead Fund for Not-for-Profit Management, Harvard Business School "Austin has performed a valuable service for nonprofit organizations and their corporate partners by illuminating the dynamics of successful relationships. His useful book deserves to be widely read by leaders in both sectors concerned about increasing the effectiveness of their social action agenda." —Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School, author of World Class and Rosabeth Moss Kanter on the Frontiers of Management "The entire nonprofit sector has been searching for the expertise and tools this book provides. Nothing else like it exists." —Bill Shore, executive director of Share-Our-Strength and author of The Cathedral Within and Revolution of the Heart "It's hard to imagine managers crafting a leading partnership and not applying all this book has to offer. It does a fantastic job in offering leaders crisp principles to be applied in navigating the landscape of collaborations." —Ken Freitas, vice president of social enterprise, Timberland Company "Superbly provides a framework of order and understanding. I wish I had had this book to share with staff and board members during my tenure at Outward Bound. It will accelerate the coming together of the sectors." —Allen Grossman, Bloomberg Senior Lecturer in Philanthropy, Harvard University, and former CEO of Outward Bound "The book provides wonderful case studies, strong insights, and solid frameworks that I plan to use in my own nonprofit course next year." —Marc Lindenberg, dean and professor, Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington, and former senior vice president of CARE "A very timely book of landmark collaborations between nonprofits and businesses set within conceptual frameworks that provide both academics and practitioners guidance on how to make alliances better." —Alan R. Andreasen, professor of marketing, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University, and author of Marketing Social Change