‘Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.’
Henry Ford

Not long ago I was having lunch with some fellow attendees at a conference. I mentioned that I was writing this book, and one of them asked me what it was about. When I told him, he responded, ‘We've got a whole organisation that needs to learn what it means to build buy-in. Right now everyone's being pulled in different directions, and it's going to strangle us if we don't turn it around.’

That one remark pretty much sums up why I embarked on this project. Ultimately, this book is about collaboration — the single most important capability for any organisation seeking to thrive in a world that's changing faster than ever. A culture of buy-in is the rocket fuel of collaboration.

In collaborative organisations, great ideas don't sit idly gathering dust, nor do they fall through cracks in the social landscape. Important projects and initiatives don't fail for a lack of cooperation. People don't become frustrated and disengaged because of conflicting opinions coming at them from managers who themselves don't seem to be on the same page. Organisational politics don't cause inertia and confusion. The customer is never forgotten.

Truly collaborative organisations are a force to be reckoned with. In the face of all the change that's happening around us, these are the organisations that are able to read the play and adapt the fastest. To lead change, even. This is their collaborative edge.

But hey, you already know that … because you're a champion of buy-in, right?