The home improvement project of our house reached its next phase recently: it was time for me to build new walls and ceilings in the hallways. Our house was originally built in 1930 and in those older houses you will find that not all angles are straight and not all ceilings are level. As such, adding new walls and ceilings requires a lot of creative thinking to achieve the desired results.

Working on such a project is to some extent quite different than working in business. However, there is also a parallel and that parallel lies in the preparation and creativity. I can not just add new walls. First I need to prepare and then, responsibly, be creative in my solutions to create new leveled and straightened walls and ceilings. Also, it is a continuous process: as I progress in my work I face new situations that require new preparation and new solutions.

It is similar in business and alliances: for the best results we need to prepare before we start. The so called 80% rule of business partnerships highlights the essence of preparation in alliances. Also, there is no fixed recipe for alliance success. Within guidance and best practices your creativity is required to cook up successful alliances.
Some thoughts for this week: Do remember to prepare for your success, as “those who forget to prepare, prepare themselves to be forgotten” and do think out of the box, after all, “If you always do what you always did, you will get what you always got!