Smart Partnerships:

1
Smart Partnerships Leveraging Strategic
Alliances for Business Success
Stephen M. Dent Partnership Continuum, Inc.
2
The new economy is opening borders and
boundaries, requiring businesses to partner

• Mergers and Acquisition Deals
• 1997 - 1.6 trillion
• 1998 - 2.5 trillion
• 1999 - 3.35 trillion

Strategic Alliances, Joint Ventures, and
Partnerships are too numerous to count
Source Thomsom Financial Securities Data, NJ.
3
Transition from the post-industrial to the
information-based economy is exponentially
increasing partnerships

• Business and societal trends are accelerating
  partnering
• Old-New Economy mergers
• Quantum Technology leaps
• Emerging Global markets
• Consumer / Generational trends

4
All partnerships are formed to satisfy a need -
otherwise it would be just plain easier to go
it alone!

• Why businesses partner
• Build critical mass
• Reach new markets
• Develop new competencies
• Satisfy customer requirements

5
The current economic transition is having
tremendous impact on how businesses are managed

• Business Strategies
• Management Competencies
• Organizational Culture
• External Relationships

6
In the Information Age, leaders must re-assemble
their business models based on new economic
constructs
Industrial (old) Information Age (new)
Control means of production Open
means of production Based on scarcity
Based on abundance
Hierarchical / Command Control Network /
Collaboration Linear / Sequential
Organic Win / Lose
Win / Win
Material Information
7
Material advantages, such as new technology or
products, are fleeting

• Competitive Advantages in the Information Age
• Vision and cultural capabilities
• Access to diverse information sources
• Innovative and creative strategies
• Robust internal partnerships, focused and
  aligned
• Strong external alliances

8
The ability to partner is so significant that
partnering is evolving as the next important
business model

• Partnering Drives Competitive Advantages
• Ethereal Energies Vision / Values / Culture
• Strategic Focus
• Shared Knowledge
• Creativity / Lack of Fear
• Cross-functional process alignment and
  objectives

9
Businesses must build a Partnering
Infrastructure or face becoming obsolete

• Partnering Infrastructures have two components
• A Defined Partnering Process
• Partnerships by design are more successful than
  partnerships
• by evolution
• People with a High Partnering Intelligence
• To have a great partnership you need to
  be a great partner

10
The Partnership Continuums partnering model is
designed to bring balance to partnerships
Stages of Partnership Development
Stages of Relationship Development
11
A Partnering Infrastructure ensures balance
between two important partnering dynamics
Task Successfully completing the goals and
objectives of the partnership Relationship Bu
ilding a trustworthy and mutually beneficial
relationship
12
Partnerships by design are twice as
successful as those by evolution

• Stages of Partnership Development
• Assess
• Understanding what you need and want from
  a partnership
• Explore
• Identifying the right partner and
  establishing a win / win
• Initiate
• Initiating an activity and building trust
• Commit
• Determining long-term viability and
  committing

13
The most common reason partnerships fail is
because of relationship issues

• Stages of Relationship Development
• Form
• Coming together to understand needs
• Storm
• Asserting our needs and creating
  opportunities for win / win
• Norm
• Working together to accomplish the task
  and build trust
• Perform
• Aligning my success with yours,
  generating creativity and synergy

Based on work from B. W. Tuckman
14
In reality Businesses dont partner, people
do!

• High Partnering Intelligence or PQ is based on
  Six Partnering Attributes
• Self-Disclosure and Feedback
• Win / Win Orientation
• Ability to Trust
• Future Orientation
• Comfort with Change
• Comfort with Interdependence

The six partnering attributes create the
partnering culture
15
Partnering attributes enable partners to
accelerate through the stages of relationship
development
Form Þ Storm Þ Norm Þ
Perform Self-Disclosure Self-Disclosure
Self-Disclosure Self-Disclosure W
in/Win Orientation Win/Win Orientation
Win/Win Orientation Ability to Trust
Ability to Trust Ability to
Trust Future Orientation Future
Orientation Comfort with Change
Comfort with Change
Comfort with Interdependence
16
Embedded in the partnering process is the cycle
of Continuous Improvement
Abandon
Plan
Use CI for both task and relationship portions
of the partnership
P-D-C-A
Do
Act
Check
17
Tips for leveraging your strategic partnerships
During the Assess Stage Know Yourself

• Build your partnering infrastructure
• Identify your partnering team
• Know your strengths and weaknesses
• Assess your needs
• Develop specific partnering objectives

18
Tips for leveraging
your strategic partnerships
During the Explore Stage Know Your Partner

• Spend time up front developing a relationship
• Assess potential partners for both ethereal
• and material fits
• Understand your partners needs as well as
• your own
• Define specific areas of win / win
• Formalize your partnership agreement
• Plan your initial activity together
• Agree on an existing strategy

19
Tips for leveraging
your strategic partnerships
During the Initiate Stage Define Value / Build
Trust

• Communicate partnership plans and objectives
• Create a joint project plan
• Implement your initial activity
• Monitor activity for value generation and
• synergy
• Confirm relationship development and trust
• Review activity outcome
• Plan for next steps

20
Tips for leveraging
your strategic partnerships
During the Commit Stage Integrate the
Strategic Alliance

• Determine next level of commitment
• Review Vision / Mission of partnership
• Develop a mutual Strategic Plan
• Integrate partnership into the organizational
• culture

21
We can all be Smart Partners!

• Great partnerships start with you!
• Understand your own PQ partnering intelligence
• Practice the six partnering attributes
• Understand your own needs
• Work to meet your partners needs
• Follow a partnering process

22
Thank You