I’m sure you’ve heard the old African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child”. Well the same is true about your business. Your business is your baby and it take a whole team – a village if you will – to make it successful.

So much of business is about relationships. It’s about connecting with people and connecting the people you know with each other. I was reminded of that again today when I connected one of my clients who is doing some coaching around government contracting with a member of our association. He’s working on a large proposal and needed a particular set of skills beyond the capabilities of his business. I was all too happy to connect the two and I hope, with their combined efforts, they can win the project.

If you are running your business in a silo, I encourage you to step outside yourself and connect with other business owners. Running a successful business, especially in the government space, is about collaboration. You cannot be all things to all people and you would exhaust yourself if you tried. So get out and make a point of networking with businesses that are vertically integrated with yours. By doing so, you may find someone with whom you can partner in order to expand your capabilities.

Remember, ANY percentage of SOMETHING, is a lot better than 100% of NOTHING.