Gregory Burge's blog

The perception of strategic alliances is changing from a last resort to a preferred investment strategy

Deloitte's 2012 Corporate Development Survey reports more evidence supporting our careers in managing strategic alliances and joint ventures. I think this section from the Press Release sums it up nicely.

While 40 percent of respondents ranked mergers as the most difficult type of deal to execute, nearly one in four (23 percent) viewed joint ventures and strategic alliances as presenting a greater challenge. Also, more than 40 percent of executives concede that their companies are less skilled at executing strategic alliances than mergers. As to why strategic alliances stall or break down, executives most frequently pointed to the alliance partners' differing views and their inability to align strategy.

"Strategic alliances and joint ventures can be difficult transactions, nevertheless we are seeing a notable uptick in this area," says Chris Ruggeri, principal, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP and its Merger & Acquisition Services leader. According to Ruggeri, "The perception of strategic alliances is changing from a last resort to a preferred investment strategy, especially in emerging markets, and companies are learning from industries like technology and life sciences that use strategic alliances very effectively to manage risk and capital."

The Press Release is http://goo.gl/Z6nkx and the URL for Deloitte's 44-page survey is www.deloitte.com/us/cd2012. Enjoy, Greg

Starbucks chooses strategic alliance in bid to enter the Indian market

Starbucks is no stranger to the value of strategic alliances, and their move into India further illustrates strategic alliances are in the boardroom when market growth is planned.
http://goo.gl/Jp4WJ

"Port"nering in the Telco industry

An interesting blog titled "It Takes Two" based in the Telecommunication industry sheds light on the challenges and value a partnering approach provokes. I hope you take a few minutes to read it since we increasingly rely on the Telco industry in flattening our globe for our social networks and commercial transactions.   Here is a sample summarizing an evolving partnering Telefonica plan.

"In the last couple of weeks, Telefonica has named two new partners for its global partner efforts – Bouygues in France and MEA giant Etisalat. They join Telecom Italia and China Unicom on what is shaping up to be an impressive roster of alliances. But in both cases, the announcements are heavy on possibilities, but light on details. Certainly there is a fair chance that this is due to the relative immaturity of the new relationships. But it will be interesting to see how these partnerships develop in the medium term, once the ink is dried. "

http://mobilebusinessbriefing.com/article/it-takes-two

Differentiating strategic from tactical relationships

Great post yesterday by Monique Rupert at Kinaxis on differentiating a strategic relationship from a tactical one with good, and hopefully long-term customers . http://blog.kinaxis.com/

By the way that customer dilemma is posed to strategic partnerships all the time, and the first impulse is to assure the client your company's resolve to ameliorate the issue(s). The partner has probably said something similar. So the crux of my point is assuring the customer sees value acting as partners even if resolution is done separately. You may forget about a minor deviation from the partnership and if you are fortunate so will the customer, but the partner will not and this deviation usually spills over into future customer pursuits.

When you read the blog consider reading it as one-side of a strategic partnership and how (if) it affects your approach to your own customers.

Thanks for your interest,
GMB

Recognition of a friend's skill and success

My IBM colleague, Susan Hed, has a brief but incisive article on her success running IBM's relationship with Oracle. Yes, the relationship is a case study on co-opetition focused on delivering client value and this article provides a peek into some of Sue's (and Oracle's) approach. BTW- the word "ahed" in the title is intentional, Enjoy !

http://blogs.forbes.com/georgebradt/2011/03/30/ibms-sue-hed-shows-how-early-wins-get-you-ahed-of-the-curve/

A new certified standard for business, which encourages organisations to take a collaborative approach to business, was launched today.

In January while attending ASAP's 2010 Summit in Anaheim, I joined in ASAP's meeting with the consultants (PSL) regarding the emerging standard around Collaborative Business Relationships. The formal announcement in the House of Lords took place on Dec 7th and the stage is set for enterprises worldwide seeking to do business in the UK to study the standard and understand the requirements.  I think over time the standard will cause businesses to seek advice on the unique skills to manage strategic relationships. 

This link describes the announcement and its evolving role with businesses worldwide.

http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/business-standard-certification-programme-unveiled.html

CTX Resources fills the temporary channel staffing need

Hello everyone. I affiliated myself with CTX because I agreed with the premise described in this blog by Charlene O'Hanlon, one-time CRN editor and experienced observer of this industry. I am interested in what you think please tell me.  Thank you, GMB

http://www.phoneplusmag.com/news/2010/11/ctx-resources-fills-the-temporary-channel-staffin.aspx

Marriages of Convenience

This article in the Management section of the Sept. 29th 2010 Financial Times reinforces to me the importance of advocating education, training and sharing best practices in collaborative business relationships.

Forming a partnership is rarely a walk in the park. But for Bangalore-based Reva, one of the world’s biggest makers of electric cars, and General Motors India, forging an alliance was literally a matter of a drive in the park.

What proved genuinely unnerving, however, was the speed at which the relationship then unravelled. In May, Mr Maini abruptly sold control of Reva to Mahindra & Mahindra, India’s largest producer of sports utility vehicles, which wanted to make further inroads into electric engine technology. GM immediately cancelled the partnership with Reva. The language from both sides was spare, but what was left unsaid spoke volumes about misunderstandings and unfulfilled expectations. The Mahindra takeover meant “there really is no value for us in doing this India-specific exploration [with Reva]”, Mr Slym said curtly.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/47bbed26-cc0e-11df-bd28-00144feab49a.html

"Even the worst can serve as the best example" was stenciled in red over the entry into my high school's locker room and I believe is why top-notch business schools hover over the carcasses of failed products, investments and businesses every day searching for tell-tale clues to the question, why?. Yet it seems we are re-learning the importance of partnerships, coalitions and alliances in business though the "carcass hovering" remains secluded to a few, select business magazines and academic studies. Is there any doubt we can improve the ratio of published alliance failures (70%) by giving collaborative business relationship skills more emphasis in graduate & undergraduate curricula? No, I don't think so !  Yet these skills are usually diluted into another business category, discipline or audience, for instance sequestered into Executive Education seminars for the already anointed.

Okay, It is time to take my soap box home but I had to write how this article affords - just one more example - of how strategic planning departments reason themselves into a headline-capturing "strategic partnership" with little insight into the requisite practitioner skills to lead these demanding, highly visible partnerships.  

I would be very interested in your thoughts, comments and stories as well.  Thank you, GMB

TypePad Conversations » Answer this question!

Alliance Results vs. Excuses

This short article speaks to Alliance Results vs. Excuseshttp://computerinfo.blogalltime.com/2010/07/25/strategic-alliance-results-vs-excuses/ I was especially drawn to the middle paragraph on "Alliance Lifecycle Disruptions. M&A and other market-making decisions can (and do) affect prominent alliances, and it is the reason I reached out to the Association of Strategic Planners (ASP) in Northern California for an affiliation. Corporate strategic decisions and Strategic Alliances are successful when in harmony and conducted with professional, respectful confidentiality. TypePad Conversations » Answer this question!

via gregoryburge.typepad.com

Strategic Thinking, Planning and Alliance

The link below is an article about the Strategic Thinking process and it mentions Alliances in it's checklist - I am gratified to see it. As a practitioner it is often a mystery if the strategic thinking includes a thoughtful consideration about an alliance because alliances always need care and feeding. An alliance strategy needs to map back to a line-of-business (LOB) strategy and the individuals planning the strategic thinking should not be the individuals to manage the alliances. If the alliance is material then the alliance should have a professional leading it.   I hope you find the article insightful.

http://daytonpulse.com/strategic-planning-strategic-thinking-is-a-process/

via gregoryburge.typepad.com