How do you enhance your product vision and strategy through strategic partnerships?

“Want to go fast, go alone. Want to go far, go together.” Someone famous said that and it applies perfectly to strategic partnerships. The goal of these partnerships is to march toward a common end point together. All product leaders are faced with the hard choice of building internally, acquiring, or partnering. In a startup environment, we have focused on strategic partnerships to accomplish our goals in a lean and sustainable way.

During my time as Head of Partnerships @zediafrica, one thing that helped me, is seeing from the outset how the partnership made business sense for the other party. Selfish perspectives blingsides you. Instead, working out the win-win math before pitching to the other party. This will also mean seeing blindspots of your offer and possible questions that they may have. Second, going to the negotiation table with open ended ideas and nudging them into speaking first, giving perspectives you don't have (best part is, you can tweak your slides right there as they other party is speaking) and at the end of the day look like a superstar company wishing everyone well.

??Accelerate product development By partnering with businesses that have complementary products or services ??Expand your market reach to win new customers. ??Improve your customer experience by providing your customers with access to a wider range of products and services. ??Reduce costs by sharing resources ??Identify clear goals and objectives: it is ??Choose the right partners who have complementary products, services, or expertise. You should also choose partners that have a good reputation and that you can trust.

My opinion is that not all partnerships are beneficial. Sometimes, they can dilute your brand identity or lead to compromises that deviate from your core mission. Therefore, it's crucial to choose partners who align with your values and objectives. Each type serves different strategic goals, and the choice depends on your specific needs and circumstances.

In my experience of growing from Product Manager to Leadership roles, I have learnt that to really build a fantastic product, you need fantastic people. Hence, here's what you do 1. Bring innovative and risk-taking minds 2. Motivate them with clear vision, goals & objectives 3. Coach them to leverage their strengths and counter their weaknesses 4. Support them to fail fast and enable them to take more calculated risks 5. Collaborate on strategy and implementation while keeping each other updated. 6. Celebrate the little wins you make as a team. Appreciate in public and criticize in private. These little empathetic acts goals a long way to bringing superb talents who want to work with you while learning new strengths.

There can be immense value in utilizing resources, experience, and human capital whilst accelerating growth via strategic partnerships.