There is no doubt over the 30+ years I’ve been in business that I’ve experienced a number of awesome partnerships. David is one of them; however, I have also been through some stormy seas with different joint ventures and partnerships.
So what I have learned?
What important lessons am I taking into CPU’s next chapter? A great partnership can fuel growth overnight. But you need the right partner. As David and I look at building our partner program with CPU, we are taking a number of key lessons along for the ride.
After all, partnerships can be difficult ships to steer, so keep these lessons in mind:
- Everyone has one another’s best interests in mind: Yes, a true partner will care about you just as much as you care about their success. I have found success in business is about creating a win-win environment. If I had a nickel for every story I heard about a business partnership being one-sided, I’d be a rich woman.
- Fences make great neighbors: Wilson and Tim were great neighbors! Remember them from Tool Time? They respected each other, had a strong agreement, and they had a solid fence. In business terms, I prefer agreements versus contracts. Our agreements set the expectation from each side and we all understand the rules.
- Meet regularly with open lines of communication: One thing I learned in the IT community was the best partnerships had open lines of communication. Meet and talk regularly with your partners and business relationships. Silence is the iceberg in the middle of the Atlantic – you don’t see problems until they sneak up on you.
- Celebrate your wins: To steal the song title from that popular 80’s song by Kool & The Gang, “Celebrate”! A win is a win, and everyone needs to celebrate victories that happen.
- Never throw anyone under the bus: We win as a team and we fail as a team. Refer to the title of this piece… Partnerships are hard work and sometimes things go wrong. You can’t throw anyone under the bus under any circumstances.
What’s next?
CPU is taking a big strategic leap of faith. We are branching out and putting our trust in “the cloud” and we are going to rely on partners to help us through our next chapter in our business lives.
Yes, it’s a big leap of faith. We know partnerships, when done right, can help our partners win, and in turn, help our company do some great things.
We anticipate smooth sailing ahead!
