Navigate Challenges
The challenges of complex collaboration are often difficult to name. This section offers a set of common "problem stories"—from getting stuck at the start to losing momentum over time—that you might recognise in your own work. Our hope is that by identifying a challenge that resonates with your situation, you can use it as a starting point to explore relevant patterns and possibilities within the Many-to-Many System.
Example Challenges
Fizzle out
There was lots of energy and potential at the start but that faded at the turning point of turning into a collectively agreed actionable plan
Stuck start
We've brought together passionate partners with lots of potential, but we're stuck on what to prioritise first.
Tension driven fragmentation
It was going well until controversial topics like money came to the table and now there is fragmentation.
Practice drift
Our collaboration agreed on a radical new way of working, but in the heat of delivery, we find ourselves slipping back into old, familiar habits.
Unripe conditions
We had great ambitions and possibility for our place but the conditions just weren’t present in the major institutions to warrant trying.
Defaulting to the Contract
Our sense of partnership evaporated when a disagreement led us to the contract, which only pushed us further apart.
Coherence drift
Gradually alignment and energy to the bigger picture drifted and now it feels more like lots of disparate actions than a coherent whole.
Share Your Story
We’d love to hear from you about which challenges you are facing in your complex collaborations.
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