“How to Build Successful Strategic Alliances”
By: J. Glenn Ebersole, Jr., Chief Executive of J. G. Ebersole Associates and The Renaissance Group ™
First of all, what is a strategic alliance? A strategic alliance is a partnership, a collaborative agreement and/or a relationship between two or more companies or organizations formed to pursue a set of agreed upon goals while remaining independent companies or organizations. Strategic alliances exist in a variety of shapes and sizes and include a wide range of scopes of cooperation levels. Strategic alliances usually are most effective when the entities involved have complementary strengths.
In another article I wrote entitled “Strategic Alliances And Their Powerful Benefits,” I listed twelve (12) clear and powerful benefits of strategic alliances. Now, in this article I suggest how to build successful strategic alliances. Here are the ten (10) suggested actions to take to build successful strategic alliances.
1. Develop a focused winning strategy for the alliance that comes from the distinctive competencies and competitive advantages of the partners in he selected target market(s).
2. Develop clearly defined objectives for the alliance to ensure there will not be a goal divergence or conflict between alliance partners.
3. Recruit and select a strategic partner based upon your focused winning strategy, your goals & objectives and your values system.
4. Develop an effective structure with a clear purpose to govern and manage the alliance.
5. Develop core competencies in collaboration and look for people who already have a proven ability to work in a collaborative environment.
6. Prepare to proactively manage the company cultural challenges that may arise between the alliance partners.
7. Respect and protect the brand of each partner.
8. Determine and align decision rights to define what decisions are important to the alliance, which partner should make them and how the decisions will be made and monitored.
9. Develop core competencies in change management to most effectively participate in a flexible, adaptable strategic alliance.
10. Develop and agree upon an exit strategy for the alliance. It Is important to have agreement in advance on how the alliance will be concluded if and when it may fail and/or when it has fulfilled its mission and achieved its goals and objectives.
If you are interested in learning more about building successful strategic alliances with your company or organization and how they can specifically benefit your company or organization, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his website at www.businesscoach4u.com or email Glenn at jgecoach@aol.com.
How to Build Successful Strategic Alliances - To learn more about this author, visit Glenn Ebersole's Website.
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