Alliance Crash Course

Perhaps, now more than ever, it's time to give your organization a crash course in alliance management? As you already know, facing the current difficult economic realities is no fun. Goods and services demand has slowed or reversed; resulting, are many organizational failures. Increased competition and consolidation naturally follow. CEO edicts; "Do more with less" have become common place. Can organizations realize more value from their alliance relationships? I absolutely believe so.

Have your alliance relationships grown organically rather than by purpose? If so, perhaps your alliance managers could use a tune-up? Like most other business development and managerial activities, alliance skills are learned rather than inherent. Do your alliance managers have the ability to see the bigger organizational picture while managing an external relationship?

Below are my Seven Steps for Alliance Development, I like to call them the Alliance Alchemy; the formula for turning your alliance efforts to gold.

1. Monitor (Determine Reasons and Need)
2. Educate (Cultural, Operational and Strategic Differences)
3. Select Alliance Type (Structure)
4. Organize (Select Partner)
5. Agreement (Written is Best)
6. Implementation (Begin Activity)
7. Maintenance (Monitor Progress and Cooperation)

Alliances as Far as the Eye Can See

Sitting on my work table are over 50 magazines-all December issues, all addressed to me. While some December issues have already been reviewed and tossed, I still have quite a number to go through. I realize that you are most likely thinking, "50+ magazines, that's obscene!" However, reviewing a large number of industries each month keeps one well informed.

I am continually amazed at the number of collaborations I read about each month from industry to industry-which keeps me questioning, "Why aren't more companies collaborating?" One particularly interesting story recently in "InformationWeek" which named Werner Vogels, Amazon.com's Chief Technology Officer, "Chief of the Year," an amazing story of both collaboration and the coming technologies that will change how business is conducted.

I'd like to urge you to consider the double edged sword of an economic down turn: constriction or expansion?

1. For those of the constriction school of thought, conservation of capital is paramount. A good argument can be made for capital conservation; however opportunities aplenty are left in a bankrupt void.
2. Making use of available time and capital to expand in positioning for the coming upturn. This is the end of the rainbow where the pot o' gold is located. Some challenges that you'll have to overcome to find that pot o' gold are:

- How does one see beyond their nose?
- How does one think beyond their experience?
- How does one leverage their core competence?
- What other markets need this competence?
- How can these markets be most effectively accessed?

Finding Alliance Partners

Where do I find great alliance partners is the question I generally hear. The simple answer: anywhere and everywhere. The truth is-the quality of your partner(s) does play a major role in the value you will receive from an alliance. In my book, Developing Strategic Alliances I offer several recommendations:

• Your suppliers are a good place to start in your search for an alliance partner. They know your competitors and other local business people from a different window than you. You can learn about their buying habits, bill paying habits and other important information about them.

• Your customers are another great place to look. They have most likely done some business with the person or company that could be seeking. Again, they have a unique window through which they have viewed your potential alliance partner.

• Your professional or trade association is a fabulous environment to search if you want to build an alliance with competitors or suppliers. The executive director of the association is usually the person who is most a tune with the players in your industry.

• Newspapers and trade magazines offer current information as to the movers and shakers in many industries. They compare, they research and generally dig up interesting bits of information about business people. Also research Internet blogs, articles, and postings for aggressive companies.

• Local successful business people can be found at the chamber of commerce activities and mixers, civic service clubs, charitable organizations and even local seminars.

• Ask those that supply you with professional services; including, consultants, lawyers, and accountants.

Deeper Relationships with Alliance Partners

A topic that I wrote about in my first book, "The Art of Partnering" back in the mid-1990s is that of going deeper (vertically) to build additional relationships beyond your immediate contacts. When you do this in our alliance partner organizations, you achieve two important alliance strengthening elements:

1. Business leaders get promoted, transferred, and fired. If this happens to your only contact at an alliance organization, chaos in the daily functioning of the alliance is sure to follow. However, if your relationships go both wide and deep in your partner organization, there is a good chance that you will already have a relationship with your new contact, be they transferred or promoted.

2. When problems in the alliance occur, and they will, it is having the deep organizational relationships that will hold things together. When partners are at war, anything one does is considered confrontational by the other. Conversely, when relationships are good, mistakes made by a partner organization are simply considered just that; honest mistakes and not cause for eliminating the alliance.

To keep your strategic alliances working like a well oiled machine, take the time and make the effort to build relationships both deep and wide in your partner organization.

Relate Honestly to Employees

How do you, the executive, relate to employees in this tough economic time? First, employees are scared; even if they feel their job is somewhat safe, perhaps a spouse or close family member has recently experienced a lay off? We are all being assaulted several times a day with rotten news about the economy. What are you doing to help your employees overcome this continued negative influence? Perhaps more frequent and more honest information sharing would serve everyone?

Second, your integrity will be their motivator. Your employees want to believe that everything will work out all right. They want to believe in you, and your leadership team. Your integrity in keeping your words and actions consistent will play a huge role in keeping your employees motivated-especially now with cutbacks in pay, benefits, hours, etc. Paint an honest picture, your employees will thank you for it.

It's in the Formula

I realize that the alliance is not necessarily what it is that you really want. You really want what an alliance can do for you; grow your business, lower costs, share risks, go to market quicker, and many more benefits. You must always remember this-while an alliance is only a conduit to deliver value, you must execute your alliance well in order to enjoy the value you want.