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Cooperation works from the principle that others need not be competitors but may also be partners. If we make use of each other’s capacities and expertise, we can achieve more. Cooperation also enables us as individuals to develop our own specialisms. The more specialized we are in our work, the greater the possibility for growth and innovation. It is similar to biological life, where a human being with all its specific and specialized organs and body parts has achieved a higher life form than that of a single-celled organism. If we are able to specialize and cooperate, we will end up at a higher level of welfare and well-being. Paul explains this kind of ‘cooperationology’ in 1 Cor. 12. He uses the metaphor of the human body to describe an optimally functioning church, the same metaphor we can also apply to the 'cooperationology' within the economy and our businesses.
God has given each one of us different gifts and talents to serve one another and the community at large, i.e., ‘for the common good’ (1 Cor. 12:7). An important precondition for good and sound cooperation is that each individual sees the whole picture; and that the allocation of revenues depends on the risks and the contributions by the various parties involved. This means reciprocity: the individual contributes to the whole and the whole care for the individual (1 Cor. 12:26).
When cooperating, we should also work from shared values and the same spirit. These values should be leading in our work (1 Cor. 12:4-6). Too many cooperations end prematurely because of a difference in values and expectations.
Besides, we need to realize that even the weakest link is of value so that the cooperation holds and the desired coherence is not lost. Honouring and respecting the weak elements instead of robbing them leads to both growth and well-being (1 Cor. 12: 21-25).
Biblical love is the key to success for this ‘cooperationology’, because this love bears all things (adversity and disappointment), hopes all things (it has vision), believes all things (it works from trust), and endures all things( 1 Cor. 13:7).
By cooperation, we are able to soar above our natural capacities. By cooperating we can contribute to growth and well-being and avoid the situation where the profit of one person is the loss of another.
Question for the day
Which of your personal characteristics and convictions as an entrepreneur do you still need to work on in order to establish cooperations or make them more successful?
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Jesus said, ‘I came that they may have life and have it abundantly’ (John 10:10). How can we contribute in an economic way to the abundant life that Jesus had in mind using our companies and multiplying our present possibilities? How can we achieve a business and a business culture that lead to automatic growth? How can growth create more well-being instead of scarcity and injustice? The eight studies below provide answers to these questions.
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