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TRANSACTION'S OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY 



men concerned are ready collaborators 

 and put the interest of the work before 

 self-seeking, or else that the client is will- 

 ing and able to supply an unusual amount 

 of skillful coordinating power. But un- 

 der reasonabl}^ favorable conditions, giv- 

 en time enough and the disposition to 

 get at the best that can be done, no other 

 method is apt to yield such good results 

 on a problem which is too broad to be 

 covered with complete success by any 

 one of the collaborators working single 

 handed. 



It is the method which I prefer for col- 

 laboration, simply because it does make 

 for the best final results ; but it is not the 

 only one nor is it well adapted to cases 

 where either speed or cheapness in get- 

 ting out the plans is of prime importance. 



Under method 3 especially, and to a 

 less extent under method 2, it is import- 

 ant to establish some definite delimita- 

 tion of the field within which each col- 

 laborator is primarily responsible, and 

 outside of which his relation to the work 

 approximates that of the consultant only. 

 In most cases, the only clear and unmis- 

 takable delimitation of such a field of ul- 

 timate responsibility is a territorial de- 

 limitation. If John Doe is ultimately re- 

 sponsible for everything which is done 

 within a certain defined area, there can 

 be no dodging the responsibility, and no 

 falling between two stools, as to anything 

 within that area ; and. similarly, as to the 

 adjacent area, for which the responsibili- 

 ty rests on Richard Roe. It is, however, 

 essential that such an arrangement be 

 supplemented by making Richard Roe a 

 consultant as regards John Doe's field of 

 responsibility, and vice versa, and by fix- 

 ing upon both the joint responsibility for 

 harmonizing and unifying all thai is done 

 on both sides of the line. 



To be more specific, this means: (1) 

 That each is expected and required to 

 keep the other fully informed as to what 

 he is doing and planning to do, inasmuch 



as anything done on one side of the line 

 may affect directly or indirectly what 

 ought to be done on the other side; (2) 

 That each must take pains to keep him- 

 self posted as to what the other is doing 

 and planning to do. and must hold him- 

 self responsible (as a consultant) for 

 offering suggestions and advice about the 

 work and plans of the other whenever he 

 thinks that they can be improved, es- 

 pecially in their relation to his own work ; 

 (3) That, in so far as concerns features 

 which appear to either of the collabora- 

 tors to affect in a vital way the success 

 of the whole, if, upon discussion of sug- 

 gestions, back and forth, they do not find 

 themselves in substantial agreement, 

 they should explain the diflference to the 

 client, clearly patiently, and fairly, to get 

 his decision. 



The snag upon which collaborations 

 not infrequently come to grief is a tend- 

 encv of the collaborators to stress their 

 individual responsibilities and rights, 

 rather than their joint responsibilities 

 and duties, each endeavoring to enlarge 

 or maintain the scope of his own peculiar 

 responsibilities at the expense of decreas- 

 ing the scope of responsibilities peculiar 

 to another collaborator. There is some- 

 times a sordid motive in this, as when the 

 compensation of one or more of the col- 

 laborators is a percentage commission on 

 the cost of "his" parts of the work. With 

 most professional men of good standing 

 I think this is seldom a conscious motive 

 of much importance; a desire for "kudos." 

 a natural human preference for being in 

 control, and a tendency to put a high es- 

 timate on one's own abilities, supply all 

 the motives that are necessary for a 

 grasping attitude. 



But where the entire work is divided 

 sharply, for the purpose of computing 

 their respective percentage commissions 

 into Mr. A's part and Mr. B's part, it 

 tends to emphasize the element of separ- 

 ateness and of "every-man-for-himself," 



