Some might use the word co-creation because it is a buzz word. However it is not the first time that I can see the power of co-creation in a project. The powerful answers one can come up with when you go in interaction with someone else. When you do not go for a consensus but find that third alternative that you would not have been able to come up with on your own
From my studies Project Management, I concluded that any project stands or falls with the people working on the project and the way they mutually communicate. Project collaborators, clients, stakeholders, financers, etc. And therefore I am convinced that networking is that important and should be part of anybody’s life. If you do it with a genuine interest for other people’s strengths and not as a parasite of course. The last years I can see the importance of not only who you know but also who knows you.
It is great to see how co-creation happens when there is trust and when you are willing to delegate to other people and build upon one and other. The power to co-create with people from other disciplines creates extra value. But honest communication is key and isn’t communication not the essence of mankind after all? It is as 2 instruments that find a rhythm together. Sometimes it about the communication without words needed.
Co-creation lets companies collaborate outside the business to gather fresh ideas and break from their own status quo. They acknowledge that they don’t have all the answers in-house, and they make it easy for others to bring the answers to them.
I think this also works for a human being in their creative process to challenge their own status quo’s. But I do think the stakeholders will only participate in co-creation if there is a value for all parties. If something is not in your own interest, why would you enthusiastically participate in it?
For the individuals involved, I think the value can be psychological or economic but there need to be a value. In co-creation we need to be able to imagine a new value chain that benefits all players in the ecosystem that you create, whether it a big ecosystem or a small one.
