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They might not be as funny, but they could lead to better solutions for business. In fact, companies as wide-ranging as IBM, GE, Xerox, and Procter & Gamble are adopt- ing this formula for collaboration. They're encouraging workers to break through disciplinary bound- aries to tap the creative power of their shared knowledge. Given the growing importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration to business innovation, it makes sense for business schools to create programs with other departments on campus, says Dean McFarlin, chair of the management and mar- keting department at the University of Dayton's School of Business Administration in Ohio. "It's unfor- tunate that we as academics haven't collectively crossed disciplines more often," says McFarlin. "But it's a hard slog, like running a business. You can't set up a cross-disciplinary program, and then sit back and watch it run. You have to monitor it, tweak it, evolve it, and grow it." In the following pages, McFarlin and three other educators discuss the joint initiatives their schools have undertaken with other depart- ments on campus and share a few of the strategic lessons they've learned along the way. When cross-disciplin- ary programs are done well, they emphasize, the benefits to the busi- ness school far outweigh the effort it takes to manage them. Be Persistent with Purpose When business faculty at the Uni- versity of Dayton decided they wanted to partner with UD's School of Engineering, they had two goals: to expose their entre- preneurship students to real-world business projects and to expand the 20 March/April 2012 BizEd school's business plan competition. The engineering school's Innova- tion Center seemed a "natural fit" because it attracted entrepreneurs seeking an engineer's help to build prototypes of their ideas. But they also needed help testing the market and building their enterprises. However, McFarlin says that when he and his colleagues pitched the idea of forging a partnership to the center's director, he initially turned them down. "He said it sounded like a great idea, but he and his faculty didn't have the time." But the business school per- sisted. As the center attracted more entrepreneurial startups, its engi- neering students weren't equipped to help those clients write strong business plans. "That's when the director realized, 'We can't do this on our own,'" says McFarlin. "We convinced him that these projects presented a win-win scenario for both schools." Now, the two schools offer joint courses in engineering and technical innovation. At the start of each semester, business and engineering faculty meet to evalu- ate projects coming to the Inno- vation Center. They separate out those that are entrepreneurial—the ones perfect for teams of business and engineering students to tackle together. "Entrepreneurs want parallel processes, where product development is shaped by market analysis," says McFarlin. Once students help the center's entrepreneurial clients develop their ideas, some clients enter the school's business plan competition—to be eligible to become finalists, their teams simply must include at least one UD student or graduate. That means the partnership has helped the business school achieve both of its original goals. It's also provided benefits to engineering students: By pairing them with management students, it's helped young engineers develop entrepreneurial mindsets, learn to speak the language of busi- ness, and understand when a proto- type might not be worth building. Strategic Lessons: In creating this partnership, business faculty at the University of Dayton adopted three strategies that they recommend to other schools. First, look for partners whose missions comple- ment your own. "You can't treat these relationships like a Monopoly board and just move the pieces around," says McFarlin. "You have to find the right partners—the units or programs that make sense from a tactical standpoint." Second, identify the individual or individuals within those units in the best position to make the partnership happen. "When we first approached the engineering school, we asked everyone there, including the dean, who would be the best person to talk to," says McFarlin. "In the end, we had a long list of names, but the same NEIL BRENNAN