"When Collaboration Breaks What You’re Trying to Build"
It started with a handshake.
One of them was the tech genius. The other? A powerhouse operator with a track record to prove it. Billions were raised. Talent poured in. Everyone said it would change the game.
And six months later… it was over.
You remember Quibi? Most people don’t. A short-form video streaming app, built for mobile, launched by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman. On paper, it was perfect: Hollywood creativity meets Silicon Valley precision.
They had $1.75 billion in funding, A-list actors, and bold ambition.
But inside, the collaboration was fractured from day one.
One pushed content. The other pushed product. One moved fast. The other moved structured. Both led. But no one followed. And when COVID hit, the cracks became canyons. Blame started circulating. Decisions stalled. Vision blurred.
It didn’t fail because of bad strategy.
Ask Nokia and Microsoft...
One needed an operating system. The other needed hardware. So they joined forces to take on Apple.
Years later, Microsoft wrote off $7.6 billion. Nokia’s phone business vanished.
Not because the tech was bad ,
I’ve seen this happen too often.
In startups. In agencies. In joint ventures. In family businesses.
The issue isn’t the idea to collaborate. It’s the assumption that alignment will stay intact just because it felt right in the beginning.
Here’s the real signal to watch for:
🔎 When people stop being honest with each other ... collaboration is already breaking. And by the time you feel the fallout, it’s already too late.
Quick Value – 5 Silent Signals That Your Collaboration Is In Trouble:
No clear roles “We’ll just figure it out as we go” never works.
Decisions slow down or they come from one side only.
Credit becomes sensitive suddenly, who “did what” matters more than what got done.
Backchanneling starts when people avoid confrontation, they start building alliances.
Meetings feel tense or vague no one’s really saying what they think.
What to do next?
If you're in a partnership .. ask the hard questions now. Not when things go wrong. Now.
If you’re about to start one ... slow down. Document more. Talk more. Define everything.
And if you’ve been burned before .... maybe it wasn’t your idea that failed. Maybe it was the invisible dynamics you weren’t told to look for.
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Let’s get real: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced when working with a co-founder, partner, or client? Drop it in the comments or message me ......I’m diving deeper into this topic soon.
1st August 2025
