If you have to choose, should you manage costs or quality?

It’s a dilemma every organization faces at some point in their life cycle. The more rigid your management of costs, the more difficult your journey to quality. The higher the investment in quality, the more difficult it is to manage costs.

In order to solve this dilemma, many organizations have looked to vertical integration: a process by which they acquire more components of the value chain. This can be done through acquisition, mergers, startups or development. Whatever the method for vertical integration, it is a risky, complex and expensive strategy.

When vertical integration is done right, it can pay off tremendously in terms of costs management and quality. When done poorly, it can be disastrous.

Due to the costs and risk of vertical integration, many are asking, “What alternatives do I have?”

I recently acquired a research and evaluation firm in the social and public sector. In corporate strategy, there is a lot of talk about competitive advantage and competition is frequently discussed. So, I entered this new space cautious of competitors.

In my new industry, the idea of competition has a significantly different meaning. Organizations that I would have been leery of have now become great allies. We compete on projects, but we also have candid conversations about challenges and partner frequently.