Strategic alliances are increasing at a rapid rate. It is good for business, good for the consumer. A strategic alliance is similar to a joint venture. Everyone remains in his or her own entity, yet come together for a single purpose or period of time to create something that could not otherwise be created.
There are cautions and rightly concerns one must consider before entering into a strategic alliance with other people. For instance, evaluating each partner's value and capabilities for alliance is mandatory before agreeing to an alliance. The who, what, when, where and whys all need clarification with failsafe boundaries.
There are many considerations when developing a strategic alliance, here are six main areas along with questions that you will want to answer to help you determine your own readiness for an alliance.
1. Assessing contributions. What do you or each partner bring to the alliance? What is each person's purpose and goals?
2. Agreeing to the terms. This has three parts: (1) area of interest, (2) net benefits, and (3) joint operations. What interest is yours and what is theirs. Strategic interests must be similar and materials or services comparable. Economic interest must have enough benefits for each to remain committed and minimize trade. There must an operational agreement.
3. Agreement on task and skills. Who is the apprentice on what? Who will be name master on what? Who is going to specifically be responsible to complete what task? Who is going to learn what? What is the division of duties?
4. Defining and measuring progress. Who is going to define or handle sales? What target market will be pursued and when? What is the process chart for a new product or service? How will the revenue be generated and distributed? What will occur if the measurements aren't met?
5. Progress and time. Who is tracing the progress and the time invested? Is the time to be contributed equal or is there a trade-off for other resources? Who and when will the progress reports be regularly discussed and completed? Is there going to be a board that will monitor equality and fairness?
6. Points of tension. When there are points of tension, and there always is so don't kid yourself that there never will be, is an outside source going to be the arbitrator? When tension occurs does it need to be expressed in writing first and then discussed? Is there a cool-down period that is required? Who is going to sign off on checks, balance the checkbook, and monitor cash flow?
So many questions, so little time. Yes, I understand, however, this one time you want to stop and open time, address these questions, and any others might need to be addressed.
? Copyright 2004, Catherine Franz. All rights reserved.
Catherine Franz, a eight-year Certified Professional Coach, Graduate of Coach University, Mastery University, editor of three ezines, columnist, author of thousands of articles website: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://www.abundancecenter.com
disinfecting cleaning services Arlington Heights ..Many of us are discouraged by the networking events that... Read More
How you finance the expansion of your business is important.... Read More
How important is a vision statement to your company or... Read More
Writing a business plan to help you direct and manage... Read More
Remember Chux? The disposable diaper that took the market by... Read More
Why cut costs now? Efforts are multiplying to cut costs... Read More
Storytelling and writing a business plan actually go hand in... Read More
Every business experiences slower periods. For some, they sell more... Read More
In most business plans, no matter how striking the idea,... Read More
People often ask "What makes a good business plan? Or,... Read More
If you own a mobile car wash business or auto... Read More
Many companies are reluctant to dive into outsourcing ocean because... Read More
When looking at Akron carefully one cannot help but notice... Read More
Part 1A few weeks ago I attended a seminar sponsored... Read More
A focus group is a group of employees or current... Read More
What do Mark Victor Hansen, Robert Allen, Anthony Robbins, Andrew... Read More
To stop a computer virus you must understand how it... Read More
The University of Exeter in the United Kingdom recently published... Read More
Succession planning requires the owner of a small or medium-sized... Read More
The new check cashing instant clearing will take some time... Read More
More than $117 billion passed hands from Internet shoppers to... Read More
Business seems to drop, slow or even stop during the... Read More
Entrepreneurs often give little if any consideration to their computer... Read More
Have you been in a "brainstorming" session where each person... Read More
There is so much small business information available today that... Read More
bathroom cleaning service Mundelein ..With a heightened awareness of opportunity, ideas can often be... Read More
There is so much small business information available today that... Read More
One Research Scientist at the Hewlett-Packard (HP) Imaging Systems laboratory... Read More
Franchised companies often require what some believe to be excessive... Read More
No matter what product or service you provide you will... Read More
Creativity is one of the greatest tools for success in... Read More
Although North Americans were the dominant population on the Internet,... Read More
In 1989, Sony founded its Institute of Wisdom at the... Read More
Running a business, whether it be an offline multi-billion dollar... Read More
If you own the mid-size business and actively work in... Read More
Many of Ohio's downtown areas are in need of upgrading... Read More
You know you need a business plan. You probably realize... Read More
Many of us are discouraged by the networking events that... Read More
In most business plans, no matter how striking the idea,... Read More
Most companies that are worthy of raising venture capital have... Read More
Note to Northwest Airlines ? It's not about fuel costsFor... Read More
We all know that nothing runs without a plan, and... Read More
"Begin with the end in mind," says Stephen Covey in... Read More
Growth through acquisition should not be considered an option reserved... Read More
I am not a big fisherman, but I do enjoy... Read More
1. Attempt Succession Planning Without Other Strategic Plans. Succession plans... Read More
"I don't need a business plan."Neither did Alice in Wonderland."Would... Read More
"Did you hear what your competitor is doing?" This question... Read More
You have heard that there is extra money on the... Read More
The decision to sell, or not to sell your business... Read More
Strategic Planning |