Strategic Alliance Magazine Q2 2016 - 9

the opportunities afforded through strategic partnering can help to focus resources on possible partnerships that make sense but also advance organizational capabilities. Building alliances as a core competency within an organization can itself turn into an important element in establishing collaborative advantage in the marketplace. That means being able to leverage shared risk and resources through collaborative business arrangements." The book has a distinctly hybrid approach, where a majority of content is focused on leadership and collaboration, while the remaining knowledge zeros in on business processes. Echavarria also provides advice on how to use team development models to create stable alliances and challenges the assumption that combining good individual leaders will create a good, productive group. A business coach for over 10 years with companies such as MasterCard, Verizon, Hewlett-Packard, Scotiabank, and American Express, Echavarria is a native of Colombia, where he was introduced to the textile and coffee business as a child. When he entered the business world himself, he realized that much of the negotiation that takes place is a power play rather than a collaborative approach. So often disagreements crop up over division of assets and fair revenue sharing. Typically, one partner believes they deserve more revenue than the other partner(s), and the deal gets negotiated at the beginning of the relationship with a contract the parties can't stomach over time. These are process questions that often require a collaborative facilitator to assist groups with conversations on how to architect the network so that the right emergent models are developed, writes Echavarria. We talk about creating value, but our systems don't match up. In my experience, we tended to divide the pie before we tried to make the pie bigger. Which is why the book emphasizes over and over again the need to negotiate the collaboration portion of the deal as the relationship is established, which should result in a more sustainable alliance. You know you're at that point when there is a sense of mutual commitment "characterized by the focused engagement of a group. ... Commitment does not mean that the structure is completely developed or that the roles and responsibilities and product/service roadmap [are] structured," he writes. That mindset creates a healthy system that can self-generate, produce, and connect with reality, he points out Author Martin Echavarria while documenting the success story of Unilever, which is working on decoupling its growth from negative environmental impacts. His point? We need to be more aware of the realities we live in. Globalized businesses today often benefit from being focused on societal and environmental contribution rather than extraction. Technological developments are ushering along that process, and continuity and sustainability often go hand in hand. Using power is not hard to do, but the more difficult and satisfying business challenge is to communicate up front, manage power, and use it appropriately, Echavarria advises. n ASAP and the author (an ASAP member and award winner) have partnered to offer ASAP members this valuable resource for US$20.00 (a 30% discount) for ASAP members, including an additional 20+ pages of Practices and Tools (valued at US$7.99) written specially for the ASAP community. Visit www.enablingcollaboration.com, and use coupon code: asap discount. Up next, ASAP and HRsoft corporate development officer, Ezra Schneier, are partnering on Schneier's book Structured Strategic Partnerships. Stay tuned for more information on how to add yet another great resource to your personal library. SUMMER * 2016 | STRATEGIC ALLIANCE MAGAZINE 9 http://www.enablingcollaboration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Strategic Alliance Magazine Q2 2016