The Pandemic Affects Alliances: Over the past year, we all have somehow experienced the restrictions that the pandemic brought to the world. Alliance Management is a relationship business and relationships are personal. We all used to conduct our work in our own personal manner and meetings were an essential part of that. Last year that all changed.
How the Pandemic Affects Alliances
We all adjusted to different ways of working. We now conduct almost all of our meetings online and Zoom became a verb instead of just a tool!
In the many conversations I have with alliance professionals it appears that most alliances continue to operate as they did pre-pandemic. Also, we’ve seen new alliances arise that otherwise would not likely have been established. Companies started working together on vaccines, and companies teamed up to manufacture facemasks. People are creative and find new ways of building and maintaining relationships. Where we used to travel to sign new contracts, they are now signed in special online meetings.
My own business transformed to fully online. Although I sometimes miss the charm of international travel and meeting different cultures I love the space and freedom that comes with working online from home. In less time I’ve been able to meet more people!
Our Alliance Masterclass turned out to be highly interactive and personal education in an online environment. Alliance Coaching works equally well through Zoom and the virtual coffee contact page quickly became one of the most popular pages on my new website. Putting it all together I can say that this new model serves me quite well.
Has the Pandemic Affected Your Alliances?
Some people have flourished in this new environment, some are desperately waiting for it to be over. The vaccines are there, but we should count on the fact that a large part of this year will likely be heavily influenced by the pandemic. When the pandemic is over, it’s also likely that we will never go back fully to the way we conducted business in the past.
How Do You Think Your New Model of Alliance Management will Look Like For Your Alliances?
Two thoughts to consider when preparing:
- What went surprisingly well during the past year and what aspects do you want to keep?
- What are you missing and what do you want back (in an adjusted format)?
I would love to hear your thoughts: send me an email, or better yet, schedule a virtual coffee to discuss.