How to Win Collaboration: From Slow SQL Governance to POS Standardization

Introduction

We often motivate others by appealing to their self‑interest rather than altruism, a principle drawn from Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations . The author reflects on personal and colleague experiences where this theory guided successful collaborations.

Collaboration Motivation

When a team has a need it cannot fulfill alone—due to time, expertise, or resources—it seeks partners who can jointly achieve the goal efficiently.

Case 1: Slow‑SQL Governance Platform

In November 2019, the author had been managing slow‑SQL issues within their domain for a year, validating a “prevention‑first, governance‑second” approach. To scale this solution team‑wide, three challenges emerged:

High professional knowledge required, difficult to implement.

Large manpower investment needed for efficiency.

Urgent timeline for team adoption.

The solution involved:

Extracting the methodology.

Encapsulating expertise in a tooling platform.

Adopting a horizontal governance model so each domain could easily adopt the tool.

Since the author could not build the platform alone, they needed to find the right collaborator.

Finding the Right Partner

The collaboration goal was clear: quickly build a slow‑SQL governance platform with a partner capable of high‑intensity effort. Potential partners included developers in the same team, other teams facing similar slow‑SQL problems, and the efficiency team.

The author identified Jan Wei, head of the efficiency team, and a colleague named Miyun with deep database experience as ideal partners.

Persuading the Partner

Key tactics to win cooperation:

Consider the value of the project from the partner’s perspective.

Explain what assistance the author can provide and why the partner should choose them.

Elevate the project’s priority for the partner.

By aligning goals and demonstrating mutual benefits, the collaboration proceeded efficiently, with the first meeting sealing the partnership and subsequent meetings defining plans.

Collaboration Outcome

After more than three months of joint work, the “Tree Sloth Platform” was officially launched on 2020‑03‑18.

Additional Example: POS Barcode‑Scale Standardization

The author’s colleague faced a pain point where numerous barcode scales each required a unique protocol, leading to endless integration work for the POS system.

The solution was to establish a universal standard protocol, achieved by:

Engaging the Alibaba standards committee as an authoritative body.

Gathering industry support from POS‑focused companies.

Negotiating with scale manufacturers individually, addressing their concerns and securing agreement.

The result was the “ICA Electronic Scale and Smart Cash Register Connection Specification,” now available on the ICA Alliance website.

Reflections

The author emphasizes that framing proposals around the partner’s benefit is the most effective collaboration strategy and marvels at the extensive network required to identify the right stakeholders.