There is a lot to be read about virus testing lately. Some countries claim one needs to show symptoms first before testing, other countries go for massive preventive testing. When is the right moment to perform a health check by testing a person on the Covid-19 virus? There is no single answer to that question.
Health is a topic that is always important, but not often urgent. Until the moment your health is compromised, then it becomes important as well as urgent. At that moment you want to be tested and cured, without delay.
I have seen the same analogy with the health of alliances. Everyone agrees that it is important to keep a healthy alliance relationship. Yet paying attention to the status of the relationship by measuring its health is rarely urgent. Until the moment the relationship is compromised, only then it becomes urgent. To me that is the wrong order. Mending something that is broken is much more difficult than keeping it together and preventing it from getting broken.
As I wrote before, “Alliances are created between organizations. However, alliances are executed to success by people and their personal connections.” So you want to maintain those alliance relationships as good healthy working relationships. Even in the best relationships, there are areas with room for improvement. An alliance health check will help you to identify those areas and to create an improvement plan.
When is the right moment to perform an alliance health check? It depends on the nature of your alliance. Generally I would perform it twice a year. Multiple health checks over a longer period of time will help to show progress and will keep your alliance relationships healthy.
PS: Click here to learn more about performing an alliance health check, or click here to schedule an exploratory call with me