What is a partnership?

Words carry meaning. Or at least they should.

Words carry meaning. Or at least they should.

At work, some words -- like “strategic” and “leverage” -- are so over-used they have lost nearly all their meaning. “Partnerships” is another one of these words. In this post I will try to define the term partnerships and use this definition in future posts.

This for That (TfT) will operate on the following definition:

Partnership - an ongoing relationship that creates new value for both (or multiple) people or organizations.

To breakdown that definition: 

• ongoing relationship - not a one-time transaction but a series of engagements or collaborations that ideally grow in scope and impact over time.  

• create new value - this could be direct revenue but often partnerships deliver indirect revenue through new product capabilities, increased awareness or entry into a new market. 

• new value for both organizations - a true partnership is mutually beneficial. However, the benefits to one party may vary over time.  In that sense, a partnership between two organizations is much like a relationship between two people. Sticking with the partnership even when the value ebbs and flows is key to what distinguishes a partnership versus a transaction. 

• or multiple - partnerships are not limited to two parties. Multi-party partnerships are sometimes known as a consortium or industry alliance. These are difficult to initiate and sustain given the challenges of managing competing interests and agendas among multiple organizations.

Intentionally not included in this definition:

• cross-functional - most high-impact corporate partnerships require input and support from multiple stakeholders or functions but it is possible for a partnership to be executed by a single team.  

• function - partnerships are not limited to a sales team or a partnerships team. Partnerships can be led by marketing, operations supply chain or admins. 

• high-impact - partnerships require effort and they should ideally all be high-impact, but that is clearly not always the case. And we obviously cannot know that at the outset. Partnerships fall along a spectrum (see below).

Elements that are not (necessarily) a partnership:

• customer/ vendor / supplier - just because a customer buys a product from another company does not make them partners.  Some can be, most are not.

• one-time transaction - a single transaction does not make a partnership. 

• highly-repeatable or formulaic program - this is the "rinse and repeat" phase of customer engagement. It can be a major milestone for an organization to reach this stage but this is not usually the approach that typically drives meaningful partnerships.

• no executive input (e.g. standard API integration)