Putting the ‘strategy’ back in your partnerships

Summary

This blog post, "Putting the ‘strategy’ back in your partnerships", is a blueAPACHE article from 2021 covering collaboration. “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is a success.” Henry Ford It is written for readers evaluating Governance, Risk and Compliance. The collaboration and communications considerations it raises continue to apply as organisations keep adapting how staff connect, meet and work together.

Key facts

Article

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is a success.” Henry Ford

As IT departments increasingly evolve with the strategic needs of their organisation, so too is it incumbent on your technology partners to do the same. So, when considering technology partners, how do we ensure that “working together is a success”? While organisation’s all have unique challenges in this arena, there are some consistent themes that are integral to establishing a strong strategic partnership:

Planning:

• Are you clear on your short, mid and longer term goals? Whether it be a comprehensive IT strategy, or a simple list of road mapped transformation projects. Are you clear on the why, what, how, who and when?

Communication:

• Have you shared your plan/roadmap with your technology partners? Full disclosure is key to enabling your partner to not only deliver their products/services more comprehensively but encourage pro-active thought leadership (if you limit the view, you limit the partnership).

Governance:

• Are there clear and structured engagements with your partners to allow focus on your strategic initiatives? Too often, BAU/Tactical activities consume our partner engagement. By prioritising time for your strategy, you ensure that your partner does as well.

Review:

• Have you established internal partner reviews to align with your roadmap? Partner reviews too often only occur when the contract is up, an annual or bi-annual review of the relationship (typically when refreshing your plan/roadmap) will provide opportunity for your partner to meet and understand current (and/or evolving) expectations.

Ultimately, a strategic partnership is defined as two parties working towards a mutually beneficial outcome. In that way, by defining and communicating your desired outcomes, you set the path towards genuine strategic partnership.

Author Credit: John Kostopulos, Head of Business Transformation

As Head of Business Transformation for blueAPACHE, John Kostopulos brings more than 15 years experience in Business and ICT strategy development, having previously consulted to a client portfolio boasting many nationally recognised brands across NFP, private business and local/state government.

Related

• Governance, Risk and Compliance
• emPOWER Security (pillar hub)

Frequently asked questions

What Henry Ford quote opens this post, and how does it frame the article's argument?

The post opens with Henry Ford's line "Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is a success," using it to frame the question of how organisations ensure that working with a technology partner actually becomes a success rather than just a beginning.

What four themes does the post identify as integral to a strong strategic technology partnership?

The post identifies Planning, Communication, Governance, and Review as the four consistent themes it says are integral to establishing a strong strategic partnership with a technology provider.

What specific questions does the post ask under the 'Planning' theme?

Under Planning, the post asks whether you are clear on your short, mid and longer term goals, whether that is a comprehensive IT strategy or a simple list of road-mapped transformation projects, and whether you are clear on the why, what, how, who and when.

Why does the post say sharing your roadmap fully with technology partners matters?

The post says full disclosure of your plan or roadmap is key to enabling a partner to deliver their products or services more comprehensively and to encourage proactive thought leadership, summarising it as: if you limit the view, you limit the partnership.

What governance problem does the post say too often crowds out strategic partner engagement?

The post says business-as-usual and tactical activities too often consume partner engagement time, and argues that prioritising time for strategy ensures the partner does the same.

How often does the post recommend reviewing a technology partnership, and why?

The post recommends establishing internal partner reviews aligned with your roadmap on an annual or bi-annual basis, rather than only when a contract is up for renewal, so both parties can meet and understand current or evolving expectations.

How does the post define a strategic partnership?

The post defines a strategic partnership as two parties working towards a mutually beneficial outcome, achieved by clearly defining and communicating desired outcomes.

Who wrote this post, and what is their background at blueAPACHE?

The post is credited to John Kostopulos, Head of Business Transformation at blueAPACHE, who the byline says brings more than 15 years of experience in business and ICT strategy development, having previously consulted to a client portfolio spanning nationally recognised brands across the not-for-profit, private business, and local and state government sectors.

Source

• origin post (2021)

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