Recently I sat down with Richard Ezekiel to discuss his new book, COELEVATE, that launched last week on 29 July. Richard is an executive who has built partnerships with Fortune 500 companies and helped scale market-defining startups in Silicon Valley. In our conversation he shares the thinking behind the book, his unique “COELEVATE” framework, and why knowing your why is the single most important step in building partnerships that last.
We explored how COELEVATE grew from Richard’s experience mentoring young partnership professionals and translating hard‑won lessons from Silicon Valley, corporate boardrooms, and industry‑shaping alliances into a practical, action‑oriented guide. Rather than writing “just another business book,” Richard set out to create a playbook for both sides of the partnership table.
One theme we kept coming back to: clarity of purpose. Partnerships launched without a clear rationale are often destined to underperform, or fail outright. Richard shares stories that illustrate how trust is essential but never enough. The why must anchor everything else.
We also discussed the five stages of the COELEVATE methodology, and why alignment, both internal and with your partner, is the stage companies most often underestimate. Richard explains how true alignment goes beyond presentations and sales pitches to genuine co‑creation.
If you’ve ever struggled to win executive support for partnerships, you’ll want to hear Richard’s message to partnership skeptics, it’s pragmatic, not preachy, and grounded in results. And be sure to stay tuned until the end of our conversation, when Richard reveals an innovative AI tool launching alongside the book: the COELEVATE AI Advisor, a “wingman” for navigating real‑world partnership challenges.
Watch the video, or listen to the podcast version of our conversation and discover why COELEVATE could become your go‑to partnership guide.