Development (4 of 4) – Simplify, Prioritize, Focus

This article is focused on strategic relationship managers: individuals responsible for the establishment, development and management of long-term value-creating relationships (e.g., strategic alliances and partnerships).

This is the fourth in a series of four articles on the development of business relationships, especially strategic alliances and partnerships. Given the "both/and" approach we are using, melding personal AND relationship development, and given the inherent complexity in strategic alliances and partnership, we desperately need to simplify. We are being compelled to:

Simplify, prioritize and focus.

Before we dive into this SPF process, let's review where the prior module concluded. Below is the final figure and text from the third article in this four-part series.

------ start of excerpt from prior article ------

Figure 1 - we must focus on (a) the most important attribute of self (attitude & mindset), (b) the most important factor in business relationships (relationship), and most importantly (c) the intersection (i.e., the "both/and") of changing attitude & mindset in order to deepen and improve relationship.
____________________________________________________

We place our greatest emphasis on relationship and people. We focus on the most important, most challenging, and most rewarding question of all. We focus our attention on the heart of ourselves and the heart of our business relationship:

What attitude & mindset do we need to embody
in order to deepen and improve relationship?

------ end of excerpt from prior article ------

As I see it, practical spirituality is synonymous with relationship deepening. Through spiritual principles (ideas) and practices (authentic behaviors), we deepen relationship; this is the practical benefit we derive from spirituality. As strategic alliance managers we need to use all of our value-creating tools. “Your daily life is your temple and your religion. Whenever you enter into it take with you your all” (The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran); this is especially true as we work on the heart of our alliance (the center cell in Figure 1, above).

As the leaders of our alliances, we are the ones to answer this question about what attitude & mindset we need to embody in order to deepen relationships. Is there anything more important to the value-creating health of our alliance? This work needs to be our primary focus, because if we don’t do it, it won’t get done. At times there will be more urgent things, but nothing more important. Realize that when we are doing those urgent less-important things, we are being distracted from the most important thing.

We have two secondary foci:

Relationship-ize the People – Teach knowledge and develop skills in the area of relationship.

We provide to those who work in our alliance just enough and just-in-time training (see Note 1, below).  We help them improve their knowledge and skills in the areas of business relationships and interpersonal relationships. We help them see the world from the other company’s perspective, bridging the cultural and strategic chasm that always exists between partners and is our greatest barrier to value-creation. We also bring with us our own attitude & mindset; we embody and exhibit the changes needed in our alliance. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change.”

We develop metrics around relationship, for which we will then be personally accountable. We help our executives and people in finance value relationship. We make sure that legal processes and contracts support relationship and do not damage it. Ultimately, we help the corporation realize that relationship should be treated as a strategic corporate asset; it can become a sustainable differentiator by attracting partners to want to work collaboratively with our company.

Alliancize-ize their Work Product – Bring an alliancing mindset into the traditional areas of business.

To “be the change” is especially critical here. We personify our collaborative mindset everywhere we go; this is what we are constantly teaching through our living. By our active presence we make the alliance’s climate healthier. We positively affect strategic planning, business planning, financial analysis and legal processes. Given that most of these individuals do not work directly in our alliance, they may not need to improve their alliancing skills, but their work product (plans and documents) do need to be alliance-ized.

Plans, contracts and teaming agreements need to incorporate alliancing ideas (see Note 2, below). They need to embrace the ambiguities inherent in alliances, such as risk, change, uncertainty, relationship metrics, intangible value and long-term returns. The critical issues here are (a) helping others value relationship as a business asset, (b) developing acceptable metrics to make intangible forms of value more measureable, and (c) bringing patience into the organization so that an alliance’s long-term value-creating potential can be more fully realized.

Figure 2 - Focus #1: improve attitude & mindset to deepen relationship;
Focus #2: relationship-ize others and alliance-ize their work product;
Focus #3: traditional business practices.
____________________________________________________

There is no clean demarcation between our work in relationship-izing people and alliance-izing their work product. This overlap and interconnectedness makes sense given the holistic nature of alliancing and relationship work. Our single primary and two secondary foci impact all areas of our alliance’s development. Still, it is helpful for us to prioritize our attention, time and energy into three levels of personal foci:

1. Improve attitude & mindset in order to deepen relationship.
2. Relationship-izing people and alliancing-izing their work.
3. Assure that the work done by others (the outer areas of Figure 2) is done in a manner that is sensitive to the subtle and significant nuances of alliance development and relationship deepening. Even if that work seems fun or is career-enhancing, as much as possible it should be done by others so that you can focus, focus, focus. This is a counter-intuitive recommendation and may seem too risky from a career perspective, but ultimately it is the right thing to do if we are going to reverse today's unacceptably high failure rates.

Alliances are all about value. We need to embody value everywhere, with everyone, all the time. But how do we do that? To start, we can be clear about who we think we are, what our role is and what our personal value is to the alliance.

For the sake of your personal success and the success of your business relationship you need to:

Focus where others cannot or will not focus:
changing attitude & mindset in order to improve relationship.

If you don't do this, who will?

#####

We are developing training focused on bringing practical spirituality into the world of business, specifically into business relationships. In time, this training will be available on-line. Let me know if you are interested.

Also, check out some of the whitepapers written over the past couple of decades on being an alliance manager, confrontation, simplicity, self-obsolescence and being transformational.

I can help you transform your business relationships.

If you find the ideas I share with you to be of value, consider remuneration.

Love,

Joe Kittel
simple ideas at work(TM)
www.spibr.org 
[email protected]

The other modules in this series:

• Development (1 of 4) – Personal
• Development (2 of 4) – Relationship
• Development (3 of 4) – Personal AND Relationship

Note 1: We provide “just enough and just-in-time” training because, quite often, no one else needs or wants to know these competencies as well as we do, and they typically only need them during a specific task; e.g., in the middle of intense negotiations.

Note 2: Teaming documents complement legal contracts. Teaming documents are living documents which enable the on-going value-creation and the iterative management needed for the long-term success of an alliance. Only issues which have to go into a contract go into a contract (e.g., IP, legal, investments, ownership, etc.)

Final Note: these four postings have been derived from the whitepaper Strategic Alliance Manager Role (Identity): a unique, holistic and empowering perspective.