| A Business Alliance is Not a Marriage More Like | | | | political or emotional undercurrents which can |
| Serious Dating... with a Prenup | | | | often derail collaboration efforts. |
| | | | When approached as a project, alliance efforts |
| "What kind of team building can we do to get | | | | can move a group of non-partners into a |
| both sides of our business alliance working better | | | | collaborative effort. |
| together?" "How can we get them to trust us | | | | Still, for all of you out there who remain addicted |
| more?" "As partners, shouldn't we be looking at | | | | to the concept of teams and equitable marriage |
| the balance between risk and reward equally?" | | | | partnerships within the alliance movement, here's |
| These are just a few of the questions I've been | | | | my version of a 12 Step Program to help you on |
| asked in recent months. The answers, in my not | | | | your way to Alliance Management Recovery: |
| to be popular opinion, are clear, succinct, and a | | | | Step 1. Make the language of the relationship |
| wee bit blunt. Hang in there though. The | | | | project based. Take out all language used |
| recommendations that follow can make this pill | | | | amongst yourselves (and which in turn may be |
| easier to swallow. First, let's debunk a few myths | | | | found in supporting documents) referring to |
| commonly associated with an alliance. | | | | teams, partnerships and equality in the alliance. |
| This is Part 1 of a 4-part series: Part 1 ● | | | | Replace it with a new relationship language thus |
| Part 2 ● Part 3 ● Part 4 | | | | realigning the meaning. Terms such as the |
| First, a business alliance is not a team. An alliance | | | | following will go a long way to resetting |
| is comprised of two completely different | | | | expectations: Collaborative project Project goals |
| organizations with independent objectives, diverse | | | | Project Schedule Project Budget Project Metrics .... |
| values and differing results requiring an | | | | You get the point. |
| organization's specific reckoning- ergo, by | | | | What to do? Start with your own internal |
| definition, it is NOT a team. | | | | reference pieces. Create a project charter as a |
| Secondly, trust, the sought after metric in | | | | starting document to reset terminology and |
| alliances doesn't happen just because it's the thing | | | | provide collaboration parameters. See Step 2. |
| to do in a pop culture society. It's been my | | | | Step 2. Create a Project Prenup. Via the prenup |
| experience that the TRUST we speak of so | | | | (or project charter), structure is given to the |
| loosely in our alliance circles comes about from a | | | | gooey nature of working with other people across |
| deeply mutual respect based on congruity of | | | | organizations. In it you will find items such as: |
| values stemming from shared experiences. One | | | | Purpose Deliverables Assumptions Challenges |
| begats the other, and the begetting is in | | | | Questions Project Scope (What's In... What's Out) |
| sequence. If you're familiar with the Book of | | | | Constraints Decision Makers (Sponsors) Team |
| Numbers in the Bible, you'll notice an awful lot of | | | | Member Roles and Assignment Risk Mitigation |
| begats. Hezekial begat Jebediah, Jebediah begat | | | | A project charter clearly spells out the significant |
| Abner who begat... well you get the gist. Trust is | | | | expectations and rules for managing key |
| similar. It too requires a lot of begats beginning | | | | endeavors of the alliance. In it, both parties review |
| with a fair amount of time spent, shared | | | | and agree prior to the project starting. To move |
| experiences, congruity of values, mutual respect | | | | things along, you'll want to create a prenup for |
| with an eventual culmination in trust. | | | | each key project associated with the alliance, |
| It should come as no surprise then that when | | | | which leads us to Step 3. |
| complete strangers begin surveying one another | | | | What to do? Craft a written project charter and |
| in the first few moments of their alliance, the | | | | forward along to your counterparts. Reference it |
| desired level of trust is less than stellar. | | | | throughout your efforts. The charter can act as a |
| Finally, an alliance is not a partnership. Why would | | | | constructive contract directing collaboration |
| it be? There's rarely a perceived equity between | | | | efforts. |
| risk, investment and reward. One party is typically | | | | Step 3. Divide the Alliance Pie into Bite Size Pieces. |
| bigger than the other. One usually has more to | | | | If you can segment some of the larger portions |
| win or lose than the other. There is no real equity, | | | | of the alliance into very specific project |
| thus no real partnership. When people behave as | | | | parameters, you're better able to manage, |
| though there are emotional conclusions and | | | | coordinate, measure and monitor. It's like the old |
| context as to how the other party should view | | | | adage of divide and conquer, only instead of |
| and regard initiatives in the alliance they are often | | | | Roman swords, you're using project charters, |
| led down a path in which communication and | | | | RACI Charts and Critical Path Crashing Schedules. |
| understanding breaks down. If you get right down | | | | This also gives you an opportunity to pilot certain |
| to it, the complaints arising from this | | | | project practices in one area of the alliance |
| misconception tend to look and sound an awful lot | | | | before rolling out to other areas. By segmenting |
| like a marriage counseling session. | | | | the alliance into tangible project scenarios, you can |
| In short, alliances aren't teams. They're not | | | | minimize the potential for serious wrinkles (isolated |
| partnerships and they're certainly not a marriage. | | | | into one project area). Before the entire alliance |
| What are they? They're projects. | | | | applecart is upset, you've got a remedy in hand |
| Teams imply adherence to pre-established and | | | | and best practices discovered from your pilot, all |
| organizationally linked mission, vision, goals, | | | | of which can then be transplanted. |
| rewards, recognition and risks. Projects don't. | | | | What to do? Look at the project as a whole. |
| Marriage partnerships imply equality. Projects don't. | | | | Where are there logical project parameters? |
| Alliances are projects, in the purest and simplest | | | | Commercialization? Domestic vs. International |
| definition of the term. If we could just cut | | | | Distribution? Product Marketing? |
| through some of the rhetoric out there, reduce | | | | This is Part 1 of a 4-part series: Part 1 ● |
| the number of surveys assessing feelings, and | | | | Part 2 ● Part 3 ● Part 4 |
| re-assign the folks pushing equality and | | | | The 12 Step Program to Alliance Management |
| camaraderie at any cost, we'd have more than | | | | Recovery may not be for everyone, but we |
| just a handful of alliances to point to as the | | | | think the tenets have some merit. At the very |
| successful "Come on! You can do it!"" benchmark. | | | | least, it should put managing alliances in a healthier |
| Framing alliance efforts as a project, forces both | | | | perspective. |
| sides of the alliance to work from an objective | | | | Following a few of these steps should put you in |
| perspective versus a subjective one. Project | | | | true business alliance dating form in no time. |
| management tenets constructively minimize | | | | |