Everything is connected: How to strengthen your strategic business partnerships

In this digitally connected world, companies are increasingly seeking strategic partners to share intellectual property or infrastructure, reduce risk and help them gain access to new markets and channels. As the business environment becomes more complex, with ever-faster innovation cycles, it’s the companies that are best at building portfolios of such partnerships that stand to thrive.

But despite the collaborative power of digital tools, managing business partnerships remains a massive challenge. As companies look to create relationships with partners across sectors and geographies, they risk exposing themselves to extreme differences in culture, communication style and expectations. 

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The implications are often overlooked in discussions focused on common goals – especially when exploring strategic alliances within a particular industry. It’s easy to assume that, as everyone is operating in the same sector, they have a naturally complementary outlook. 

Ignore the differences, however, and those working on the day-to-day application of a project may end up receiving confusing guidance or conflicting priorities from their partner organisations. This is just one manifestation of the added stress often placed on partnerships, reducing the odds of their success.