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 Failed Alliances Linked to Bad Relationships
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RodWilliams Administrator Posts: 38 |
posted 06-15-2001 11:53
   
Posted by admin(RW) From Leverage Points Issue 13 FROM THE FIELD Today's corporations are increasingly entering into strategic alliances to achieve their goals. But although these joint ventures start out with high expectations, about 75 percent of them fail. Last fall, for example, negotiations between AT&T and British Telecom to connect their business-service units deteriorated several weeks after they began. Why do so many efforts to partner fail? According to Vantage Partners LLC of Cambridge, MA, and others, most partnerships fall apart because companies neglect the corporate relationship issues that typically emerge as an alliance is being formed. Vantage, founded by several members of the Harvard Negotiation Project, just released its three-year study of 150 business alliances (http://www.cmi-vantage.com/alliance). One key finding reveals that the partners' excitement at capitalizing on their synergies often masks simmering conflicts around differences in skills and values. So when the deal is done and trust and respect issues surface, the alliance disintegrates. Contentious negotiations during an alliance's formation can also adversely affect the relationship, as does today's complex business environment in which companies aligned in one arena often find themselves competing in another. How can prospective partners avoid these pitfalls? The Vantage study offers 10 best practices for businesses to successfully manage and maximize the value of their partnerships. These practices focus on building relationship capabilities through steps such as establishing common ground rules for working together, putting skilled managers in charge of managing the alliance, and training employees in conflict resolution and handling difficult conversations. By investing in nurturing intercompany relationships, companies should reap the benefits of more successful and productive partnerships. [This message has been edited by RodWilliams (edited 06-19-2001).] |
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jscarcello Junior Member Posts: 3 |
posted 06-20-2001 18:10
Amen to this article. I think one of the keys to getting to the bottom of these relationship issues is to get people to re-interpret the mission and vision and goals of the company in a way that has pesrsonal meaning for them.The kind of relationships that business today requires are what I call whole person relationships and finding personal meaning creates them. People need to be willing to be at work personally invested in what is going on. A scary place you say? Sure it is when you take a personal stand you are vulnerable. You are showing yourself up front and without anything to hide. But when what you say and do comes from your principles your co workers know who you are they know where you stand ,communication is immediately enhanced. Make I statements at work, not we statements.Invite those who work with you to make their I statements. This is the path to becoming interdependant and buliding relationships whose foundation is trust. To link personally to the corporate vision or msssion you need to read the corporate statement and then sit down quietly and ask youself why do I come to work each day?. What am I trying to avchieve here? Then write a story about this,something intimate and linked completly to what motivates you. Now present this to your team amd ask them to do the same. I have seen this in action it is very very pwerful,very old and very simple. Read Warren Bennis quote in this edition of Leverage ... this is exactly what Iam talking about here. If you know who you are in your work and why you are there you are automatically willing to be at the centre and here comes your energy , your motivation,all the aspects of willingness. Abilities are easy to gain after this is achieved. If you find you are not connected to the corporate goal , then it is time for career counselling. Live is too short to use it in a place that does not give you personal meaning. You may have much to contribute somewhere else. Well there is my personal stand ,thank you for the place to share it. |
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