Dance Lessons

5

A Partnership Test:

The Eleven-Point

Checklist

A

ship. It is an opportunity to begin learning from

and communicating expectations to your poten-

tial partner. Participants can openly and candidly

explore values, attitudes, and approaches—

essential information for ensuring a smoothly

func tioning partnership. Specifics are important

throughout. “Ambiguity can mean disaster,”

says Lillian Prymak of Executive Forum in

Englewood, Colorado. “Dis cuss scenarios very

early. Take the time up front to explore all the

‘what if’s’.” Better to invest the time and effort

into firming the particulars up now than to later

find yourselves looking for a graceful way out.

Then, as Producers Livestock Association’s

Dennis Bolling sums it up: “You are ready to

begin a relationship when their need becomes

your goal and they feel the same about you.”

75

A GOOD AUDITION IS VITAL IN FORMING A GREAT PARTNER-

LESSON

76 STEP TWO: AUDITIONING

Point by Point

Assume now that you are

confident you have the right partner. There is an important

next step to be taken before you firm up your alliance. The

questions in this eleven-point checklist are designed to help the

two of you assess the rational side of your potential partnership.*

Although some of them may not be relevant to your

present situation, they are important considerations for audit-

ing your partnership’s potential. Reviewing them together can

reveal hazards that might later cause the partnership to stumble.

Checkpoint #1: Complementary Strategies

■ Are our individual marketing approaches effectively

served by this partnership?

■ How can this partnership enhance or improve our

strategies?

■ If one of us is adversely affected strategically by this

partnership, are there ways to compensate or support

that partner?

Checkpoint #2: Cultural Congruence

■ Are our cultures (what we believe, how we live, our

norms, values, and styles) congruent, or at least

compatible?

■ Can our incompatibilities coexist without jeopardizing

the partnership?

■ Are there cultural changes down the road that could

damage our partnership?

*Appreciation to Ron Zemke and Jim Kouzes for their input on these questions.

Checkpoint #3: Views of Time

■ Do we have similar views of the future of our partner-

ship? Have we been open about how long we expect it

to last? Do we agree on how to end it satisfactorily?

■ Are our philosophies on time the same? Does urgency

have the same connotation and value for both of us?

Are we equally fervent about meeting deadlines?

■ Have we agreed on the consequences of delays or

missed deadlines?

Checkpoint #4: Control Practices

■ Do we measure, monitor, and inspect in similar or

complementary ways? Do we have compatible ways

to make decisions and solve problems?

■ Are our record-keeping, accounting, and control

systems and practices cut from the same cloth?

■ Do we need to change the way we measure processes

and results in order for the partnership to verify and

gauge progress?

Checkpoint #5: Front-Line Information System

■ Do we communicate alike unit to unit and person

to person?

■ If things go wrong, are our early warning and repair

systems and skills compatible?

■ Are our organizations structured to support this

partnership? Have we talked about whether and how

they can be improved?

PARTNERSHIP TEST: THE ELEVEN-POINT CHECKLIST 77

‘‘

Partnership requires

full and adequate disclo-

sure. Partners must be

willing to lay all their

cards on the table—the

good cards and the bad

cards.

’’

—Dennis Bolling,

Producers Livestock

Association

Checkpoint #6: Shared Values

■ Is a win-win philosophy a normal part of the way we

do business? Do we need to create a stronger, more

obvious win-win philosophy in either of our organiza-

tions? Can we assertively talk about trust issues?

■ Are our views on the meaning and importance

of quality compatible? Will we approach quality

assurance with similar tools and fervor?

■ Are our customer service views and practices com -

patible? Will we approach understanding and meeting

customer needs with similar tools and fervor? Does

customer loyalty hold the same value for each of us?

Checkpoint #7: Goals, Roles, and Tolls

■ Are we of one mind on the partnership’s primary

business goals? Are we clear on what we’re trying to

achieve together?

■ Do we have the same view of the roles we (and our

organizations) will play in this partnership? Have we

talked about how we will handle conflict if our roles

change after the partnership is under way?

■ Do we have exactly the same view of the price of our

partnership time, expense, resources needed, frequency

of encounters and transactions, and other tolls?

Checkpoint #8: Compatible Intellectual Capital

■ Within our units or organizations, do we each have the

right skills and knowledge to manage this partnership

effectively?

78 STEP TWO: AUDITIONING