1. Strategies
CORPORATE STRATEGIES
According to Webster, collaboration is the action of
working with someone to produce or create something.
Collaborators can come from the same fields, similar fields
or very different backgrounds.The outcome,however,should
always be the same—coming together to create something
better than either party could do on their own.
Yet, some have questioned if collaboration is overrated.
The word may be overused, but the action certainly can
make a difference. All of the buzz words we hear such as
building relationships, networking, joint ventures, partner-
ships, and yes, collaboration, mean nothing if not put into
action, followed through and shared.
Supplier diversity professionals, directors and managers
play a vital role in making these too often used buzz words
become reality.Collaboration and building relationships can
certainly have a huge impact when jobs are available by help-
ing identify those opportunities and by knowing the contact.
The UNC(UniversityofNorthCarolina)SystemTriad
Coalition was formed to create a space for collaboration
among minority general contractors, subcontractors, and
majority contractors who often did not know each other
even if they were in the same town or bidding on some of
the same projects.Helping them understand how they could
partner or create a joint venture,particularly on state-related
public projects was beneficial for all of the participants.
The Coalition has participated in several different types of
collaborations that have helped our universities,businesses,
and the community.
In addition to direct business opportunities, the Coali-
tion developed a mentor/mentee lottery pick.Through the
lottery pick, a majority firm was able to select a minority
firm to mentor. To date, there have been two successful
minority firms connected with two different majority firms
for assistance in the areas of estimating,back office support
and shadowing of the majority firm’s project manager on job
sites. And on a few occasions, the minority firm provided
services to the majority firms on their projects.
Another example of collaboration happened when Win-
ston-Salem State University and Novant Health jointly
planned and organized a one-day healthcare symposium at
the Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-
Salem, North Carolina. Majority and minority firms were
able to take advantage of presentations on best practices and
hear from the American Society of Health Engineers and
Infection Control Risk Assessment on their requirements
for contractors. Since the healthcare industry is such a spe-
cialized field,many minority contractors were unsure about
potential opportunities or the skillsets needed to participate
in their projects.
The symposium provided an opportunity for contrac-
tors to meet general construction firms who work in
the healthcare field as well as meet decision makers from
Novant Health.One year later,a minority firm that attended
the event was able to win a contract to build a Novant Health
medical office building in Charlotte.That same company is
also in a joint venture with a woman-owned firm to build
a critical care main campus unit in Charlotte. Through
networking and collaboration, this company is now slated
to work with a developer on an upcoming building project
in Winston-Salem.
Just opening doors or developing opportunities for a
company should not be the end of the collaboration story.If
collaboration has helped your firm, then the success should
be shared with others to reinforce the fact that collaboration,
partnerships,networking or joint ventures can pay dividends
to all parties involved.So,when positive connections become
a reality, the benefits, experiences and successes should be
celebrated and shared. ◆
Brenda Fulmore, A.P.P., is director of Supplier Diversity
at Winston Salem State University where she is responsible for
managing the Historically Underutilized Businesses Program
strategic plan, outreach and reporting for
the university. Since starting at WSSU
in 2010, she has increased the HUB par-
ticipation with M/WBE participation
ranging from 30 to 39 percent by using the
Construction Manager at Risk construc-
tion delivery method. Fulmore is a gradu-
ate of the University of North Carolina at
Pembroke and an Accredited Purchasing Practitioner (A.P.P.)
through the Institute for Supply Management.
By Brenda Fulmore
RATE STRATEGIESCORPOR
Collaboration Nation
Reprinted with permission from the May/June 2015 issue of Minority Business Entrepreneur
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