Partnernomics

by Mark Brigman

  PDLs are commonly required to interface with IT, finance, product development, marketing, sales, legal and other teams in order to advance critical initiatives. Dealing with wide ranges of professionals who belong to multiple companies can be a major challenge, but it can also be a benefit. Great PDL see their expansive role as an advantage as it lends opportunities to develop relationships with future resources. That is the mindset of a resourceful PDL.

  Relentless / Committed / Patient:

  Although these adjectives seem independent of each other, they are commonly used as synonyms to describe the same critical behaviors. PDLs must have a strong sense of conviction and purpose to lead their strategic partnering initiatives to success. Every strategic partnership encounters hardships and conflict, it comes with the territory of architecting new initiatives. Great PDLs, however, have a sense of resolve and vision that allows them to stay focused due to their exceedingly high levels of commitment, relentlessness, and patience. The role of a PDL is not for the faint of heart. This role requires a person who is mentally tough, disciplined, and rational.

  Competence:

  As previously mentioned, when seeking and selecting strategic partners, we should prioritize “best-in-class” providers. That is, companies who have demonstrated a real expertise within their given craft are much more likely to provide the great value-add that we need in order to create a competitive advantage. However, competence is a human characteristic and starts with the individual PDLs who oversees partnerships.

  Competence is the know-how that allows us to be experts of our given trade and what allows our partners to be experts as well. The combination of this powerhouse expertise is what makes the strategic partnership so valuable. It is what makes the prospect of developing a competitive advantage in the market real and exciting.

  Competence not only leads to greater results but also helps us build the credibility that is needed in order to be seen as a leader. If we see others as being subject matter experts within their domain, we are more likely to trust their judgments and follow their recommendations. It is critical that we develop the necessary competencies so that our teammates and partners view us as subject matter experts fueling our engine toward success.

  Listener:

  Arguably the single most critical criterion for achieving an enduring partnership is the ability to provide continual value to your partner. With constant pressure to achieve peak business performance, it is easy to become self-absorbed and lose sight of the health of your strategic partnerships. By being a great listener, we ensure that we stay in-tune with the thoughts, needs, and beliefs of our partners. Being a great listener is truly an act of great leadership. Great leaders do not take care of themselves; they take care of people who, in return, take care of the leader. By being a great listener, our PDLs are aware of the wants and needs of our strategic partners, and they seek to provide constant value to perpetuate the growth of the relationship. Our PDLs should constantly remind themselves of the recommendation that Steven Covey shared, “Seek to understand.”

  Empathetic:

  One of the core traits of a great leader and a great PDL is to have empathy for others. Strategic partnerships, at their basic level, are important business relationships. The PDLs who lead these partnerships have a genuine ability and desire to care for others and help them prosper, even if the prosperity of others comes at our expense. PDLs understand that relationships are an infinite game and, at times, we pay debts, and other times we receive credits. Healthy strategic partnerships are a fluid and dynamic cycle of give and take that make both organizations better off over time.

  Simon Sinek addresses the topic of empathy in his book Leaders Eat Last, claiming that people think leadership is about rank, power, and privilege; Marines believe that leadership is the willingness to place others’ needs above their own. Sinek points out that leaders are able to empathize with others, allowing them to be better partners.

  The art of leadership is the ability to motivate and influence others to perform in a productive manner that advances the leader’s mission (which is aligned with the company). Every individual is virtually worthless by him/herself. In order for companies to achieve great feats, a team must work together and “row the Viking ship” in the same direction. It is the leader’s responsibility, the PDL in the case of strategic partnerships, to ensure everyone is rowing in the right direction and at the precise cadence. Leaders who exemplify genuine empathy for others are able to tap into a special emotional sense in others that leads to an incredible level of loyalty, trust, and commitment that accelerates the accomplishment of initiatives.

  Respectful & Respected:

  PDLs spend the majority of their time interfacing with people, internally and externally, in order to advance strategic initiatives. Earning the trust and respect of others is an absolute necessity in order to be successful.

  There are two forms of respect: professional and personal. Customs and rigid rank structures within organizations define professional respect. It is customary to give C-level officers within a company certain privileges, such as a corner office and seating at the head of a table. In the military, members salute officers of higher rank and refer to the officer as sir or ma’am. If we are smart and we value our position, we have to be mindful and extend professional respect to superiors. Professional respect is important if you like tradition, but it does not help us get work done.

  In relationships, the only type of respect that truly matters is personal respect. We rely on our instincts and others’ judgment when we begin the process of building personal respect for people. When we view others as being worthy of our personal respect, we become willing to go the extra mile to best serve that person. We find ourselves being drawn to support the cause that our respected comrades lead.

  It has been my experience that only those who are respectful become respected. We find that people who what to be trusted must be trusting; the same is true when it comes to respect. All great PDLs are respected and the strong sense of respect is what allows their leadership ability to shine.

  Strategist / Problem Solver:

  The craft of architecting and developing a strategic partnership is like remodeling an old house. You start with a plan and a vision, but you never know what you have to work with until you look beyond the surface. Carpenters have many tools and types of material in order to make a great finished product, but it takes time, vision, support, and a keen ability to adapt to unforeseen challenges.

  As PDLs build their Strategic Partnering Plan and Term Sheet and negotiate their Strategic Partnership Agreement and begin to lead their partnerships, they must not only envision all of the plans before them but also efficiently begin construction. Where new homes come with a detailed blueprint, remodeling projects come with visions and a commitment to create something of greater value. Challenges seem to loom behind every wall that needs to be moved within your new house, but you stand ready to solve challenges as they come as you keep your teams focused on the vision of a fully restored home.

  Creative:

  You are familiar with Murphy’s Law, right? If it can go wrong, it will go wrong. It seems that Murphy’s Law applies to many aspects of strategic partnerships. One thing is certain: no partnership is exempt from challenges or conflicts. Remember the goal of a strategic partnership is to provide mutual benefit to both parties.

  Value can come into a partnership in many ways. From time to time, however, our PDLs are met with a constraint that does not allow us to deliver on a specific request. But the resourceful PDL is able to provide value by employing their creativity and understanding of a more global view of their partner’s needs. The successful execution of a strategic partnership is the result of many building blocks.

  The role of a PDL is dynamic. The ability to continually find ways to add value to the parties is a unique gift. A great PDL is a consummate problem solver. In rare cases, when problems do not exist, the PDL creates one—the need to create more val
ue. The deployment of creative minds and creative relationships accelerates the value-add initiatives that strategic partnerships promise to deliver.

  Personality Profiles

  Company leaders and consultants use a range of personality profiling tools such as DISC, Kolbe, ProfileXT, and Culture Index in order to analyze and describe natural behavioral tendencies. These tools are intended to uncover personality traits to drive awareness of the individual being analyzed as well as to those who interact with the individual.

  Personality profiling instruments are frequently used by hiring managers and human resource leads to evaluate how well each candidate fits with an intended set of personality traits that are linked to success factors for specific roles. For example, most successful sales people are outgoing, talkative extroverts. A significant amount of research has been conducted over the past several decades that support the use of personality profiling tools as a means to better match employees with their natural strengths and interests.

  There is no shortage of books, seminars, consultants, and tools that may be used to help your organization better understand its people and the roles where they will likely perform at their best. My intent in writing this section is to remind you of these tools and their valid use. What is more important but less understood are the specific fifteen personality traits (previously shared) that are found in exceptional Partner Development Leaders. Research and use the tools that best help your organization evaluate these fifteen traits in your PDLs as well as your partner’s PDL team.

  Partner Development Leader – Team Approach

  When organizing PDL teams, there are two common approaches. I refer to the two approaches as “Lone Ranger” and “Hunter/Farmer.” Both organizational approaches work, so I cannot say that one is better than the other.

  In the Lone Ranger approach, the PDL owns the initiative from start to finish. That is, the PDL helps build the growth engine strategy, finds the partner candidates, executes the agreement, and develops the relationship as he/she leads the initiative into the distant future. This approach seems to be common in small companies or in initiatives that require a great deal of subject matter expertise. When I served as a PDL for a Fortune 500, our domain expertise was quite deep, so we exclusively used the Lone Ranger approach.

  In the Hunter/Farmer organizational model, one PDL serves as the hunter that seeks, finds, and negotiates the partnering agreement. A second PDL comes into the fold, generally at the term sheet phase, to assist with the partnership initiative. With this approach, the Hunter PDL is usually the one that negotiates the agreement and handles future contractual changes (amendments) that may need to be executed. The Farmer PDL, on the other hand, works exclusively as the executor of the partnership. This approach is more common when subject matter expertise is less important or when a wide range of strategic partnerships need to be executed.

  It is critical to include the Farmer PDL in the partnering process during the term sheet phase. It is vital that both parties understand the terms (wants and needs) of the deal and that a smooth transition occurs after the deal is signed. Even if certain terms are left out of the written agreement, by being involved at this phase, the Farmer PDL will be aware of the value points that their future partner desires. All too often, a poor transition occurs between the people who negotiate a deal and the people charged with executing the deal. Positive momentum is a strategic partnership’s best friend. Poor transitions can kill momentum right from the start and make for a turbulent launch.

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  CHAPTER 7

  PARTNERNOMICS.com/C7

  Goals Element

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  Goals Element

  In the goals element of the SPLM we bring full clarity to define success for our new partnership initiative. Recall in the vision element we discussed the power of purpose and the exponential benefits that can come when we get others emotionally engaged in our purpose. By sharing a grand finish line mental picture (vision) that inspires actions to work toward shorter-term milestones (mission), we are able to accomplish significant feats. Goals are the steps that we take monthly, quarterly, and annually, that pave the way for us to accomplish our company’s purpose—our mission.

  Exceptional leadership skills can be the difference between mediocre team performance and exceptional team performance. Great leaders consistently share the company vision, reinforce the mission (the “why”), and manage goa
ls that lead the organization down the pathway of success. The physical process of identifying, visibly posting, and actively managing goals does something extraordinary for teams. Active team engagement of company goals offers a strong level of visibility and accountability that inevitably foster accomplishment.

  Countless success coaches, psychologists, and consultants preach the power of goal setting. When I was in the Marines, we had a saying, “Prior planning prevents piss poor performance.” It was affectionately known as “The 6 Ps of Success.” If a certain military exercise was deemed to be a failure, more often than not, the cause was a lack of goal setting or poor management of the goals. Regardless if we are talking about personal goals or company goals, the benefits and the approaches are the same.