Once an alliance is launched, the real work begins. Only a healthy alliance can truly thrive and deliver the results everyone hoped for at the start. Yet, many alliances stumble during execution. Priorities shift, communication slips, or one partner’s goals start to drift. It’s a common story.
When that happens, it’s time for a transition: either to reshape the alliance or bring it to a close. But before you can decide which way to go, you need to know what’s really going on.
That’s where an Alliance Health Check comes in. A regular review or structured interview process can reveal what’s working, what’s not, and what needs attention.
I was once asked by a client to assess their partnership with another company. It was a classic David and Goliath situation. A small, four-person firm in one location was working with a global multinational whose project team was spread across several countries. The alliance had been running for four years and had started with enthusiasm on both sides.
Each partner had something the other needed. David had a breakthrough innovation; Goliath had the resources and reach to scale it and bring a strong joint offering to market. But over time, Goliath began to feel that some topics couldn’t be discussed openly anymore.
They brought me in to take a closer look and recommend improvements. Through interviews with Goliath’s team, it became clear that some important steps had been skipped early on. In their excitement, they hadn’t fully explored the strategic rationale or assessed the partner fit. They had jumped in partly out of fear: “If we don’t, someone else will”.
That is rarely a solid foundation for a partnership.
The good news was that the opportunity itself was still strong. With proper alliance management the two organisations could still work together effectively. They just needed to address a few recurring issues that, if ignored, would keep turning into roadblocks. None of them were showstoppers, and Goliath’s management saw that the alliance was worth the effort to fix.
Some of the challenges came down to culture, not surprising given the huge difference in size and structure between the two companies. These differences can be managed, but only once you’re aware of them.
The key takeaway for a healthy alliance? Good preparation is half the battle. The early stages of the alliance lifecycle are there for a reason. They help you test the opportunity, build a strong foundation, and give you the tools to steer the partnership when challenges inevitably arise.
This case also shows that it’s rarely too late to turn things around. A review through an Alliance Health Check can uncover underlying issues and provide clear recommendations for improvement. Get in touch if you’d like to explore what an independent Alliance Health Check could do for your alliances.