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350 STRATEGICALLIANCESthat in this world of global competition and technology,
if one is going to use intimidation tactics to negotiate a
partnership, they probably are too weak to be considered a
partner for anyone. The best partners come from strength,
whether it is personal, financial, spiritual, or corporate
success. Finding the strongest partner and then identify-
ing strengths that could be brought to complete them is
the best way to formulate a long-lasting strategic alliance.
The partners that continually help each other to improve
and grow are those that last. In the end, the stronger the
partners, the greater enjoyment and financial success for
all involved.Parts of the Contract Never to Forget!
The intent of a contract and the payment arrangements
and revenue sharing is usually spelled out from the be-
ginning. Most companies and individuals are anxious to
establish criteria for cash assets. Other important assets
many contracts tend to forget or to neglect have to do with
company identities and branding. Will the new entity have
its own identity or will the shared companies have permis-
sion to use each other’s logos, marketing, and branding?
What about the intellectual property? Who owns what and
will some ownership be shared? Most technology compa-
nies are very familiar with the intellectual property that
they own. The problem remains that as new specific part-
nerships are put into place between two or more compa-
nies, the new marketing or technology solutions do not
take into account how the solutions will be used by each
of the involved parties.
CollegeCapital had cobranded with an international
firm to market specific blended products and assumed
that the cobranded name of the effort had been checked
and trademarked by the dozens of attorneys that had been
involved in the formation of the products and services.
Several months and millions of marketing dollars later, a
competitor company was noticed as using the same name
in a competitive situation. After several letters, negotia-
tions, etc., the entire program had to be renamed and
redesigned by the partners because the proper legal doc-
uments and protections had not been put into place and
the new company had created a claim to the branding and
names that had been created. A seemingly, slight oversight
became a very costly mistake.
Remember: Do not assume that because a company has
millions of dollars of revenue, a huge market share, and
thousands of employees that all of the appropriate mea-
sures have been addressed. Sometimes the most obvious
issues are overlooked.
As simple as it sounds, a list of all possible mishaps
should accompany all contracts, and at the very least, be
items for discussion. There is no way to predict the future
with perfect accuracy. This is again where the spirit of the
individuals involved and their commitment to solidifying
a win/win long-standing partnership becomes the most
serious of considerations.Closing the Deal
It sometimes seems that the negotiation processes contin-
ues long past the time of the hoped for contract closing.
In several cases, the demand and timing for the alliance
partnership may have been so great that the partnershipstarted working before the paperwork was complete. This
is another caution in ensuring that your partners will up-
hold their promises. Whenever possible, don’t start work-
ing on something without the proper agreements and con-
tracts in place. It usually causes fewer problems to wait
a few days and do whatever it takes to complete the con-
tracts.Creating a Process for Maintenance and
Growth of the Strategic Alliance
A simple strategy for managing any relationship is to agree
on specific needs for communication as early as possible.
Simplifying all processes to be easy to duplicate through-
out all of the companies will hasten the success of any
project but especially the relationships between individu-
als within several companies. Look at the communication
and process designs as if a franchised system was being
designed for the least knowledgeable employee.
The following questions should be answered whenever
any consideration to design the implementation of creat-
ing a strategic alliance occurs:What is the ultimate long-term goal to be established us-
ing this particular procedure?
What is the short-term result that we should be able to
quantify?
Is there a simpler way to achieve this outcome?
What are the quantifiable results that should be expected
in one week, one month, 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years?
If all goes well, where will the company be in 20 years?
What reassessment strategies will be used and how often?
What are ways to consider now for growing the relation-
ship for more profits into the future?CONCLUSION: STRATEGIC ALLIANCES
ON A LARGER PLATFORM SUCH AS
THE NATION OR THE WORLD
If individuals focused on developing the best of their tal-
ents and trusted that they could find others—businesses
and persons with whom they could form collaborations
to create a unique dynamic product or result—would
that not eventually create a better, more peaceful world?
Wouldn’t companies, countries, or persons be less likely
to destroy that which they need for their own gain? And
if that need, search, and respect for unique talents were
the driving force throughout society, wouldn’t we be com-
pelled to nurture, educate, and create opportunities to
seek out the uniqueness in all persons, companies, govern-
ments, schools, and even religions? Could this constant
seeking for completion begin to honor our own seeds of
greatness? Wouldn’t we be perpetual in offering what we
are really great at and admitting to others what we seek
or need? Every family, society, and company reflects the
thoughts and attitudes of its leaders.
In the Current Events section ofForbes Magazineof
July 8, 2002, p. 43, Ernesto Zedillo, former President of
Mexico, wrote about a new round of trade liberalization
talks. He said that during the last talks,