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346 STRATEGICALLIANCESthe possibility of worldwide exposure, a larger look at po-
tential should be assessed from the very beginning. Any
company mission should create a long-term focus with a
broad use of the mission.
It is obvious, more than ever, that individuals and com-
panies must know exactly what they are best at, or their
highest and best use. Once an individual or company un-
derstands their truly unique talents and abilities, they can
begin to encourage and grow those talents, through more
specific education and experience. Once the core com-
petencies are recognized and defined, focus and direc-
tion to develop those competencies can occur. Money is
not wasted trying to grow something that at best will be
mediocre in the competitive arena. Today, because com-
petition is a global concern, there is no need to encour-
age a business, a department, or an individual to be or
do something that cannot be maintained in excellence.
With the added complexities and extreme competition in
today’s business environment, a company must do what it
does better than anyone else. To do otherwise is a prelude
to failure.IDENTIFYING THE PART YOUR
BUSINESS PLAYS
As a business answers, “What do we do better than anyone
else?” the list becomes shorter and shorter. The next ques-
tion then becomes “What are we doing now that we could
get someone else to do better?” More often than not, it is a
perceived direct competitor that has an ability that could
be very beneficial if resources were combined. Competi-
tors, when partnered, typically can become complimen-
tary, each company focusing on what they do best and
sharing in the support teams of employees. This thinking,
although seeming common sense, requires individuals, as
well as companies, to look at what drives them. If indi-
viduals are untrusting and in control of a company, they
will be unable to develop a company based on respectful
relationships and open communication. These attributes
are imperative when creating strategic alliance partner-
ships. Unfortunately, many CEOs tend to hire persons
with similar traits, and when they are of a suspicious na-
ture, they unknowingly tend to surround themselves with
similar individuals. This practice within a company, large
or small, is one to avoid. Ultimately, strategic alliances
will only work if integrity is woven throughout the or-
ganizations involved. So the rules for building strategic
alliances areRule 1: Find partners that your company wants to be
around, those your company can respect and work
with, as a strategic alliance partner, whatever reputa-
tion they have, will be attributed to your company.
Rule 2: Find partners who have an established reputa-
tion of market strength, stability, and history in their
focus.As the mission is being developed and focus is identi-
fied, the mission will be expanded to encompass growth
of that core competency and greater market share of that
focus. The focus may change to becoming more of abusiness-to-business partner with strategic alliances than
marketing directly to the public.
As CollegeCapital’s business model continued to evolve
from its inception, it became obvious that its best use of
developing and providing the largest secured database of
scholarships would facilitate schools helping students. In
the original formation of its business plan, CollegeCapital
was to help students directly, one at a time through con-
necting with them over the Internet. The model had to
expand in order for CollegeCapital to stay focused on its
core business, which was to maintain and sell information
contained in their database of scholarships. Schools were
in the business of connecting to and providing service
for students. CollegeCapital decided to find partners with
those companies that needed what they had. It had not
developed a business based on understanding how stu-
dents connect to information regarding college prepara-
tory and scholarships. Schools typically provided that
connection. One of the largest partnerships occurred for
CollegeCapital from forming a strategic alliance with Cox
Communication and Learning Station, companies con-
necting schools through an ASP design, delivering cur-
riculum and information directly to the classroom. The
strategic alliance brought CollegeCapital back to focus on
its core business, that of developing the scholarship and
college information, bringing value to those able to deliver
it. The companies were able to share in revenue, market-
ing, and expertise using each other’s employees and part-
ners. Mutual trust and communication became the neces-
sary component of the relationship. Cox Communication
and Learning Station trusted that CollegeCapital would
stay focused on the creation of the information that they
needed to deliver. CollegeCapital trusted that Cox Com-
munication and Learning Station would continue to fo-
cus on ensuring that the schools had a connection to the
information. As the alliance grew, just as in most relation-
ships, so did other opportunities. The project for Arizona
schools was the largest technology project with the most
partnerships ever attempted.
Change is usually upsetting and although most compa-
nies and individuals have felt greater stress, aggravation,
and complication with the many changes of recent years,
the formation of strategic alliance partners can actually
simplify an organization into a more focused effort. In-
stead of trying to be good at many different businesses
within one corporate structure, a business has an oppor-
tunity to use very focused efforts to expand what it does
best. This focused effort filters throughout a corporation
to individual effort. When individuals focus on developing
their own core competencies, usually what they enjoy do-
ing and are uniquely good at, they add much greater value
to their company. Companies are able to benefit from em-
ployees who master and use their greatest talents instead
of trying to create a mediocre mix of abilities of several
talents.Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses
In 1994, Larry Wilson in his book,Stop Selling Start Part-
nering, quoted Alvin Toffler from his revolutionary best-
seller,Future Shock, “No generation has witnessed so
many simultaneous changes that are interrelated and of