But "this is a big deal in terms of trust because the [supplier] couldbuild the same part for your competitor," he says. "Once you say,Build me the world's best overhead arch beam, they could turn aroundand sell that to Airbus." No one has come up with a satisfactorysolution to that conundrum yet, despite vendor claims to the contrary,says Griffin, adding, "We need to work some stuff out."

Six Ways of Getting to Yes

So successful collaboration boils down to trust among partners. Andtrust has to be built up over time. "You have to earn it," saysApplica's Fisher. "You can't walk in the door with bright eyes andbright ideals. It takes time." Acknowledging that there are no quickfixes, here are six ways CIOs can lay the foundation fortrust.

1 Start small. Begin by collaborating on asmall scale - such assynchronizing one type of sales data - and with a partner you alreadytrust (hopefully, the feeling is mutual). Pick a project that islikely to provide a quick return on investment for both sides. Onceyou show real benefits and create a climate of trust, then it's timeto go for bolder stuff. Spalding, the sporting goods manufacturer,launched its collaboration with Wal-Mart by initially exchanging datavia EDI. Today, the companies share forecasts and real-time sales dataover the Internet. The key to the successful venture, says SpaldingCIO Rousseau, was establishing a track record of collaboration,however modest.

2 Look inward. As Lowry found at Goldman Industrial Group, thenecessary precondition for establishing trust with outside partners isestablishing trust with one's internal peers. That means the CIO andhis staff must make peace with the supply chain folks, the e-commerceteam, the marketing and sales force, and whomever else might beinvolved (which is to say, everyone). Give the same pitch you would toexternal partners, singing the commonsense benefits of workingtogether and grinding along toward consensus. Your internal politicalsituation might be a mess, but that's no excuse. If you can't breakdown barriers with the people you play alongside on the companysoftball team, you don't have a hope in hell of doing it withoutsiders.