Companies poised for growth, whether on a local, national or international scale, face unusual demands in today’s rapidly evolving global business climate. They must discover and even create new markets, and then move into them with a speed and precision that ten years ago would have been impossible. Competition is no longer simply a matter of grabbing a larger slice of the pie; it’s about creating a larger pie.
Even the best-established companies’ capabilities cannot provide all the necessary links in the value chain when entering new markets. Traditional methods of forging those links, such as internal resource development or acquisition of a business that possesses the missing capabilities, force companies to sacrifice one or more essential elements of growth: speed to market, organizational agility, and effective cost control. Instead, growing companies must create alliances with other firms, even competitors, whose strengths compliment their own to enable all the allied parties to reach beyond their own grasp.
And yet most executive teams remain skittish about committing to an alliance strategy. Why? Because alliances are complex relationships that require exhaustive due diligence, methodical, yet flexible implementation, and an unusual level of trust between allied parties. Most importantly, alliance relationships require an unprecedented commitment from each party’s most senior executives, without which even the best wrought strategies for implementation and growth will never be realized.
The most successful alliances tend to be created by seasoned managers who have created and studied them previously and understand their complexities and demands. The team at Strategic Triangle has built alliances domestically and across international borders for companies ranging from early stage start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. We have developed a 24-step methodology for designing and managing alliances that addresses the Critical Success Factors these dynamic business relationships require. And we practice what we preach: our firm’s own long-range strategic plan depends primarily on the maintenance of our current alliances and the creation of new relationships to increase our capabilities and drive our growth as the 21st century unfolds.
- Alliance Workshops for Senior Management
- Strategic Alliance Due Diligence? Its Time is Here
