The infamous Chilkoot Pass seemed to tower unassailable, far above his head. Yet limbs screaming, he plodded on, and on, eventually cresting the peak, and moving down to stake his claim: Tom had joined the gold rush.

By 1897, Thomas Flack had found gold, and returned with his fortune to the young city of Vancouver on Canada’s pristine west coast. There, he set about to build a landmark building at the centre of the city.

The William Blackmore-designed masterpiece would open in 1898, serving as home to retailers, barristers, insurance agents and others. Its location and style made it a treasured part of Vancouver’s heritage.

Yet like the neighbourhood to its east, The Flack Block fell into disrepair. For much of the past 100 years, the building has gone unnoticed….

Collaboration Gets Us Everywhere

On April 1, 2009, after a two-year renovation, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson officially reopened The Flack Block. Diligently restored by Vancouver’s Salient Group, the newly named Tides Renewal Centre is home to Renewal Partners, the Tides Canada Foundation, Hollyhock Leadership Institute, and numerous like-minded, cause-driven organizations-including Octopus Strategies.

Shared meeting spaces, an open kitchen café, and a full calendar of events make the Centre an ideal venue for collaborative relationships among the tenants—at just a time when collaboration is on everyone’s minds. As the economy moves through recession, the leaders of strained organizations are casting about for opportunities to improve their fortunes. Collaboration with peers is an obvious step in the right direction.

Yet most organizations aren’t clear on what ‘collaboration’ means in practice.

I polled a number of colleagues and mentors who have undertaken significant work and accomplished impressive goals through collaboration. Like Octopus, they are cautious entering into ‘partnerships’ or ‘alliances.’ But like us, they also recognize that sometimes 1 + 1 = 3. Here are ten rules for effective collaborations:

1. Assume abundance. Know there’s enough influence, enough work, enough money to go around. Collaboration can’t be a zero-sum game.
2. Be (semi) formal. A little structure can be a fine thing, clarifying roles and defining responsibilities. But don’t formalize away the flexibility.
3. Share the weight. Collaborations help us to accomplish more, so take advantage of the new, bigger team. Get more done, and get it done better. (Remember, 1 + 1 = 3.)
4. Get comfortable being a beginner. Partners bring expertise you don’t have-and opportunities to learn.
5. Be a leader. Sometimes you’ll need to show the way.
6. Be a follower. Sometimes others will lead you.
7. Communicate. Teams are nothing more than groups of people working toward a common goal. Effective communication keeps teams functional.
8. Create opportunities: Smart people rise to important occasions, often succeeding beyond expectations. Give them the chance.
9. Debrief. Share the lessons of success and failure at key milestones during every project. Everyone benefits, including your clients.
10. Disband (or not): If there’s value in the collaboration, keep it going. But be cautious of unnecessary escalations of commitment. Nothing need last forever.

Informal alliances, especially those formed ad hoc for individual projects, can endure and bring about significant successes. At the Tides Renewal Centre, the legacy of Tommy’s gold is a catalogue of promising collaborations. Stay tuned…. Who knows what ’1 + 1′ will bring….