A Conversation on RSA

I was telling a CISO client this week that I am both missing attending RSA as well as enjoying missing RSA this year. She totally agreed and said that she felt the exact same.?

Why is this? I had to get introspective a bit to discover how that feeling had hit home for both of us, even though we both couldn’t immediately articulate why.?

What I came up with was a bit more of a self-study in relationship building and forming partnerships. RSA isn’t the best conference or most focused networking opportunity out there. The sheer size would prevent it from being any kind of “focus.” The circus-like vendor atmosphere, parlor-trick attention grabs, and endless sea of practitioner talks (which have about a 40% value-add hit rate in my personal experience) can be entertaining and sometimes insightful, but the primary value for me has been the convergence of thought leaders into one spot on the globe and opportunities for building new relationships or rekindling old ones.?

As I got to thinking about the value of partnerships and building relationships that came out of RSA, I found myself thinking about partnerships more holistically.?

Effective partnerships in both corporate and commercial settings require a balanced exchange of value and mutual benefits to ensure sustainability and success. Some of my personal thoughts on partnering include:?

1. Partnerships often involve non-monetary exchanges and are based on mutual support rather than direct rewards.?
2. Successful partnerships require a win-win situation where both parties benefit, which is essential for long-term collaboration.?
3. Corporate vs commercial partnerships share some similarities and differences:?In the corporate world, partnerships can be formal, like sponsorships, or informal, like political support for projects.?In the commercial world, long-term partnerships typically should yield value beyond the basic transaction, involving personal and professional support.?
4. Peer-to-peer and formal commercial partnerships can lead to negative outcomes if not managed well. For example, customers may pay more than appropriate (based on unnecessary layers of “partners”) or receive less value because too many hands are in the pot.?
5. One-sided partnerships are usually short-term and can sometimes feel exploitative if the value exchange is not balanced.?

Strategies for Building and Assessing Partnerships?

Building successful partnerships involves careful planning, testing for mutual benefits, and clear communication to ensure both parties contribute and receive value equitably.?

1. Testing partnerships with small projects can help determine compatibility and balance of value exchange before too much is invested. You can also test the waters on a more measured scale before overinvesting and being negatively surprised.?
2. Proactive definition of how value will be produced by both sides is crucial to avoid misunderstandings and ensure a fair partnership.?
3. Adopting a design thinking approach can help in planning and executing partnerships effectively.?

To all my friends and colleagues out at RSA – I hope you have a great time and form some new and long-term partnerships. Hopefully, these thoughts of introspection on partnership help you find more of what you are looking for.?