Business partnerships are challenging to say the least, with two distinctly different companies trying to come together to solve a single problem, whether that is revenue growth, product expansion or even brand buy-in. But during a pandemic where survival strategies are overriding existing plans and resources are severely constrained, keeping your strategic alliances and partnerships on track is even more challenging. Keeping the two separate companies’ priorities aligned and focused on a common mission amidst the pandemic is of serious concern to many business leaders today. It’s All in the Approach As the person responsible for achieving partnership success, you have all of the responsibility with little-to-no authority over the resources you need to achieve success. It’s one of the most challenging positions in any company, but with the right methodology in place, you can help ensure both parties stay focused on the goals, and the results you anticipated are being delivered. At Afterburner, our team of execution experts rely on the training and experience they gathered as members of elite military forces, engaging in global operations with countries and teams that were forced to align with each other to accomplish a common mission. Despite different cultures, languages, geographies, and even ideologies, our team members have successfully executed military and intelligence missions in hundreds of alliance-building situations. And we’ve brought that expertise from the battlefield to the boardroom for the past 25 years. HOW-TO GUIDE: © 2020 Afterburner, Inc. All rights reserved. 1.866.754.4085 | www.afterburner.com | success@afterburner.com Partnership Success Amidst the Pandemic • Business leaders from two companies align to form a strategic partnership • Clear and quantifiable goals are not developed and communicated to their respective teams • Execution teams get lost in trying to balance existing priorities, avoid distractions and achieve ambiguous success • A large void grows between the two organizations and the partnership fails to deliver Partnership Void A Brighter Future As the COVID crisis continues to wreak havoc across most industries and businesses, now is the time to implement a new way to manage your strategic partnerships and alliances. Staying focused and aligned on common goals, using a common mental model has never been more important than it is today. Learn how the Afterburner Alliance Execution Program can help you get your partnerships on track and delivering the results that both parties envisioned when the alliance was formed. Or, consider implementing the program from the very beginning of a new partnership to guarantee more successful results. Learn more at www.afterburner.com. © 2020 Afterburner, Inc. All rights reserved. www.afterburner.com For more information about how we make your success our mission, contact Afterburner at 866.754.4085 or success@afterburner.com. The Afterburner Approach to Solving Partnership Challenges – Once and For All By implementing the Afterburner Alliance Execution Program, hundreds of companies have benefited from the structured methodology we deploy across business and technology alliances. We’ve helped companies of all shapes and sizes align around common goals, build a common mental model for operating, and repeatedly deliver against aggressive goals TOGETHER to win. Here are some of the most common pitfalls we see technology companies fall into when it comes to strategic alliances and partnerships – and how we help solve them. PITFALL: SOLUTION: Ambiguous or soft goals make it hard to win Leaders agree but followers remain uninformed and frustrated Stalled progress leads to despondent and uninspired teams Misalignment creates wide chasms that are hard to cross Lessons learned are quickly forgotten Clearly defining the vision of success is a critical first step. Defining what we call a High Definition Destination, or HDD, makes it clear to every individual what the specific and quantifiable goals of the partnership are. Breaking down the vision into specific missions that execution teams need to pursue to reach the HDD is the most common overlooked step. If not done properly, this leaves team members are left guessing and confused, unable to push through the many complexities that are sure to come. At Afterburner, we call this Mission Planning. Every HDD is supported by a series of campaigns that are then broken down into Missions – pointing all resources to the actions needed to achieve success. Establishing a solid rhythm of execution keeps both parties engaged and focused on success. We help you create a new format for engagement we call X-Gap meetings, where every task has an owner and a date attached to it and on a weekly basis, progress is reviewed and tracked. Dashboards give leaders visibility into the team’s progress, helping to ensure the mission in on track. Having the same mindset and taking the same approach to problem solving in the partnership is what helps the partnership withstand the many challenges that will be thrown its way. At Afterburner, everything we do creates what we call a Common Mental Model by which the two disparate teams can quickly align and act with agility. It’s important that teams inspect the past to improve the future. Partners must learn how to capture lessons they’ve learned at each stage of growth. We call it the Afterburner Debrief, which is a structured format that allows each team member to share what worked and didn’t work during the mission. These lessons are incorporated into the follow-on mission so the team is constantly learning how to work more effectively together to achieve success.