Co-operation can lead to sub-optimization. What can you do to prevent it? Apart from being aware of the risk and managing accordingly, here’s what I suggest.

Seek or create reasons to collaborate, not co-operate.

Let me explain. Co-operation becomes problematic when parties with different ambitions and agendas are forced, for whatever reason, to work together, whether or not they like it.

On the other hand, collaboration happens when parties work together to achieve identical goals.

Although people can co-operate even if they don’t understand or agree with the reason for doing so, they can only collaborate when they understand the shared goals and believe that these goals are mutually beneficial. Why is this? Because collaboration requires that the best of each contributor is sought, valued, and used.

And that is how collaboration resists the tug of sub-optimization.

Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.