Why You Should Collaborate More, and Why You Should Avoid Collaboration

About a year ago, a friend and I collaborated on a project together.

It was difficult, it was time-consuming, it was frustrating. For both of us.

But when we got through it all, we’d created something that we would not have been able to create on our own.

I think this a fairly accurate example of most people’s experiences with collaboration. Annoying, stressful, full of disagreements, but at the end of the day you’ll end up with something neither of you would have gotten if you’d gone in alone. Whether or not it’s good is another story.

Why is collaborating difficult?

Because two or more different people with two or more different visions and talents are coming together, sometimes there is disagreement. There can be disagreement over what the final goal is and what the road looks like to reach the goal. This is especially evident in bands where the members all want different sounds or different career paths.

Either you come together with your collaborators, or you’ll fall apart. Respect each other and each other’s ideas, and maybe you’ll get somewhere.

Why is collaborating worth it?

Everyone is skilled at different things. To bring up the band example again, there is at least one drummer, singer, pianist, and guitarist. These people have their areas of expertise. They couldn’t make the same music by themselves. Sure, some artists might get started by themselves, but eventually they team up with people who can bring something to the table.

This is true in movies, books, and plenty of other creative mediums. In movies, for example, there is a writing team. There is rarely, if ever, a single writer. Certain people specialize in writing different things. One-liners, endings, dialogue, whatever. These specialists are brought in to write what they’re good at, and the work is overall better off because of them.

If you’re a creative person, the chances of you being able to create a masterpiece or huge hit in one go all by yourself are slim. Ask someone to look at your work, ask someone to contribute, get an outside opinion. There are pros and cons to collaboration, and whether or not you actually need it is a judgment call.

Don’t sacrifice or compromise if you really feel strongly about what you’re doing, but never shut yourself off from other ideas.