Partnerships and strategic alliances can deliver sustainability.

Understanding partnerships.

Partnerships and strategic alliances should not be viewed as another form of charity. They are cooperative relationships and strategic alliances between people or organisations that agree to share responsibility for achieving specific objectives.

Each partner expects their contribution to yield a meaningful and measurable return. Partnerships with resources, expertise, or distribution channels could provide the support needed to grow your business.

A range of partnerships can make your business a valuable and sustainable asset in your community. In Real Estate, they talk about Position—position—position, with the Position being the most critical consideration. Regarding business, it is Partnerships—partnerships—partnerships because alliances will have the most significant potential impact.

Business partners often start businesses together with little planning and few ground rules. Sooner or later, they discover that what’s left unsaid or unplanned usually leads to unmet expectations, problems and frustrations.

Who could you have business partnerships with?

Good partners are often inundated with requests; yours will be just one of them. They can’t support every opportunity brought to them, which means you need to do your homework and be well-targeted and well-prepared.

Mediocrity will always try to drag excellence down to its level. In setting up your partnership, don’t trade your superiority for their inferiority and never be intimidated by their size.

Looking for partnerships requires the right mindset.

Choosing the best partnerships and executing the best agreements will be critical factors. The long hours and high stress associated with business mean that people will get to know each other very well, for better or worse. Sometimes, you must work in a partnership before knowing whether it will be better or worse.

Often, partnerships fail. They fizzle, underperform, or blow up. Few deliver expected or unexpected positive results to all parties. The reasons for this generally boil down to one or more parties having an attitude that pre-sets a course for failure.

Everybody gets excited, and executives gather for much backslapping about the synergistic opportunities abounding in this fresh new partnership. Unfortunately, the months pass, and nothing happens.