38 - The Non-Negotiables of Successful Partnerships

Friends with Benefits

Emir Elliott-Lindo shares his insights and experiences in the field of partnerships. He emphasizes the importance of building relationships, trust, and credibility in partnerships. Emir also discusses the significance of cross-pollination and strategic relationships in driving success. He highlights the non-negotiables and institutional beliefs that lead to successful partnerships, including treating everyone well and delivering on commitments. Emir also introduces his company, Big Friends, and explains the concept of having big friends in an ecosystem. He emphasizes the need for governance and steering committees and the importance of engaging with key stakeholders, including the CFO. Finally, Emir discusses the impact and integration that can be achieved through partnerships with strategic partners. In this conversation, Emir Elliott-Lindo shares insights on aligning key performance indicators (KPIs) with partnerships and the importance of understanding an organization's KPIs. He emphasizes the need to show KPIs in steering committees and highlights certified resources and integrations as important KPIs. Emir also discusses the growing focus on retention as the new acquisition and provides advice on working with global systems integrators (GSIs). He suggests starting with regional systems integrators and boutiques before approaching larger GSIs. Additionally, Emir shares tips on assessing readiness for GSIs, articulating messaging for SIs, and getting the attention of GSIs. Finally, he discusses building teams and mentoring in partnerships.
Takeaways

• Building relationships, trust, and credibility are essential in partnerships.
• Cross-pollination and strategic relationships can drive success.
• Treating everyone well and delivering on commitments are non-negotiables in partnerships.
• Having big friends in an ecosystem can lead to significant impact and integration.
• Governance and steering committees are crucial for partnership success.
• Engaging with key stakeholders, including the CFO, is important in partnerships. Aligning KPIs with partnerships is crucial for success.
• Understanding an organization's KPIs and aligning them with partner KPIs is important.
• Showing KPIs in steering committees helps gain support and resources.
• Certified resources and integrations are valuable KPIs for partnerships.
• Retention is becoming as important as acquisition in partnerships.
• Starting with regional systems integrators and boutiques can be a good strategy before approaching larger GSIs.
• Assessing readiness for GSIs is essential before pursuing partnerships.
• Articulating messaging that highlights the value for SIs is key to getting their attention.
• Building diverse teams and mentoring individuals is crucial for success in partnerships.