Alliances & Partnerships

Bad Communication

Last week I was asked to name a collaboration I have been in, a collaboration that worked best and why it worked best. Immediately I had to think about a collaboration I had in the early 90’s with a supplier....

Slow down!

Since our move to a more rural area of the Netherlands, I have experienced a different pace of life, a more relaxed pace. It took me some time to adjust, but I found out that people here take more time...

Isn’t it just common sense?

In a recent conversation I was asked if preparing for a proper alliance isn’t just common sense for an experienced business executive. Indeed, to some extent, it should be just common sense. The issue is that we are conditioned to...

How do you ensure alliance results?

PWC, Accenture, IBM and some other consultants regularly perform CEO studies. In these studies we see a rising desire of the C-Suite to grow through partnerships and alliances. The reports don’t agree on the exact numbers: it must be a...

Are you creating ambassadors?

When I receive a request from a potential client that does not fit with my business, I try to not give them a plain “no” as an answer. Instead, I always look who else can help them with their request....

Where focus goes …

Focus: many say that focus is the single most important habit we need in order to succeed in getting the results we want. Still, there are so many distractions in Today’s world and we gather so many things we don’t...

If you know everything in advance

Last week, my brother reminded me of something our father used to say. It goes more or less like “If you would know everything in advance, you would only need a dime to travel the world.” He was a wise...

A collaborative Christmas!

A lot has been written about collaboration in the past year. Amongst others by me in this weekly column. Thank you for being a loyal reader!A general definition of collaboration: “Collaboration is the process of two or more people or...

What should you stop doing?

Busy, busy, busy, everyone is always very busy! Sometimes it seems that December is the busiest month of them all. Then we enter January, and many people start with all kinds of good intentions. The so-called “New Year’s resolutions”. By...

Are you getting better?

In some professions, it is very easy to see if you are getting better at what you do. A decline in errors, an increase in results, the measurement might be different yet both can indicate an improvement. Getting better is...

Design your alliance for an exit

Undoubtedly you have heard about the fact that the United Kingdom wants to exit the European Union. Long negotiations have taken place and during the last few weeks this so called “Brexit” seems to have entered a new phase. I...

What to do when your executive sponsor is arrested

The Renault Nissan alliance is a great example of a cross cultural long standing alliance. Created in 1999, the alliance is constructed in a way whereby Renault and Nissan work closely together in design and production of cars. Additionally they...