Are You Ready For It?

Happy New Year!

2020 is officially over. Whether it was a positive year for you or not, we’ll all remember it as a year that made history. For the first time in many years something from the “outside” affected us all, no matter where we live – it touched all of our lives. Many people will feel relief that this remarkable year is over.

Somehow, with the start of a new year we subconsciously believe that we can start all over again, with a clean slate. Many business and governmental systems are also set up that way; a new year, a new target, a new budget, new taxes to pay; all the counters are reset back to zero.

Long-term Focus.

I’m different, I’ve never really worked that way, I’m more focused on the long-term with long-term relationships. You could say that I am more of a marathon runner than a sprinter (although the longest distance I’ve ever run was 26km, which is a little less than a 42km marathon, but I’m sure you get the point!).

Alliances too have more of a long-term focus. Alliance relationships need to grow to come to their full fruition. That needs investment in time and resources. Some organisations get that, in other organisations management expect short-term miracles the moment an alliance is established. For alliance managers that scenario often feels like an uphill battle. The alliance managers keep on explaining to their management why the alliance partnership needs time, while the system demands instant results.

I always advise those clients to try to balance it: focus on the long-term for the real potential of the alliance but meanwhile look for the short-term low-hanging fruit to keep the system happy.