Peter Simoons

FEBRUARY 25, 2024

From a high-level perspective, alliances & partnerships can be seen as relationships established between organisations to reach a particular goal that one of the parties cannot (easily) achieve alone. When taking a closer look, I would argue that alliances & partnerships are relationships between the people involved.

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Peter Simoons

DECEMBER 12, 2021

Tip 25: Measure Alliance Performance on Leading Indicators. Once you’ve got your alliance or partnership formed and running, how then do you determine if your endeavor is headed towards success or not? For many alliances, revenue is an important element. Make sure you are measuring the right elements in your alliances.

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Peter Simoons

MARCH 10, 2024

“Who is your executive sponsor for this alliance?” I asked the alliance manager. This alliance manager had already been looking after the particular alliance we were discussing for two years. From many perspectives this alliance was destined not to reach its full potential. I’m not sure,” she replied.

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Strategic alliances Alliance management Value creation Collaboration 130

Peter Simoons

FEBRUARY 27, 2022

“What makes a good alliance manager?” The answer to that question, to a certain extent, depends on the type of organisation you are in and the type of alliances you look after. Organisations therefore perceive the role of alliance management differently to each other. This was a question I was asked in a recent conversation.

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Alliance management Credit Collaboration 246

Peter Simoons

SEPTEMBER 6, 2021

Tip 18: Create an Internal Strategic Alliance Definition. I have seen many organizations where one department had a different understanding of what a strategic alliance is from another department. In one situation, a business unit of a client was working to establish a marketing alliance with a reseller.

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Strategic alliances Marketing alliance Legal Collaboration 245

Peter Simoons

NOVEMBER 28, 2021

Tip 24: Measure and Evaluate Alliance Performance. The same principle applies with alliances, partnerships and other collaborative business relationships. There are several ways to measure an alliance. One way to measure an alliance’s performance is the balanced scorecard. I will highlight three of them.

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Alliance partnership Collaboration 246

Peter Simoons

FEBRUARY 13, 2022

In our Alliance Masterclasses we like to keep it very practical, in the sense that what we discuss in class can directly be applied to a participant’s situation. In a recent round of feedback for one of our Alliance Masterclass, one of the participants concluded that alliance management is not Rocket Science and then others chimed in.

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Alliance management 246

Peter Simoons

FEBRUARY 11, 2024

In my previous article, I wrote that alliance success begins with having an alliance culture in your organisation, but what’s trust got to do with it? A culture full of trust will enable a thriving organisation consisting of thriving alliances & partnerships. The post Alliance Success: What’s Trust Got To Do With It?

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Partnership success 130

Peter Simoons

JULY 30, 2023

In the realm of strategic alliances, there are two types of executives in the business world, those who truly understand alliances and those who do not. The first group is supportive, collaborative, and comprehends the importance of a triple-win in alliances. Sadly, alliances do not work in such a way; they are not magic wands.

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Alliance management Strategic alliances Government Collaboration 130

Peter Simoons

MAY 21, 2023

During a recent conversation, I was asked what Alliance Management is. Later on, looking at my own website I learned, to my surprise, that in the 13 years of writing this column I have written about many aspects of Alliance Management, but never about the basic question of, “What is Alliance Management?”

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Alliance management Strategic alliances Legal Government 130

Peter Simoons

JULY 16, 2023

This situation parallels a common mistake I often encounter when discussing alliances and partnerships with people. Many individuals mistakenly believe that collaboration within alliances comes naturally to us as human beings. They fail to recognise the importance of learning about collaboration and managing alliances effectively.

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Alliance management Collaboration 130

Peter Simoons

NOVEMBER 5, 2023

When delving into the realm of leadership within alliances and partnerships, the complexity further intensifies as it encompasses a multitude of elements. People may associate leadership with being a stellar alliance leader, or with their company’s position at the forefront of alliance leadership.

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Alliance management Collaboration 130

Rigsbee Research

JANUARY 24, 2024

In the dynamic landscape of business, developing strategic alliances has become a crucial aspect for individuals and organizations alike. The book, Developing Strategic Alliances, explores the myriad reasons and benefits of forging these alliances in his comprehensive guide.

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Strategic alliances Business development 130

Peter Simoons

OCTOBER 10, 2021

Look at your Alliance Efforts Through a Different Lens. Alliance efforts never are, and should never be, about the leaders and their organisations. In such a case an alliance is destined to fail! What is required for leaders who are establishing an alliance is that they are able to step over the shadow of their own egos.

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Strategic alliances Collaboration 244

Peter Simoons

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

When we create alliances, we generally do so with the intention of building a long-term relationship with our alliance partner, but remember, alliances don’t last forever. Circumstances will change and those changes might make the alliance obsolete, as the alliance no longer serves the original purpose for which it was created.

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Collaboration 130

Peter Simoons

APRIL 11, 2021

In other words, strategic alliances and partnerships are essential for the successful future of an organisation, and flexibility is key. However, how then do companies with an established alliance portfolio respond to an external shock such as the COVID-19 pandemic? Successful alliances are grounded through a structured approach.

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Strategic alliances 242

Peter Simoons

FEBRUARY 26, 2023

For myself, I’ve set the goal to improve as an Alliance Leadership Coach in 2023. This means I will work on further developing my skills in the areas of Alliances, Leadership, Coaching (and any combination of those three areas). That particular project entails helping my client to become the best global alliance team they can be.

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Alliance management Global alliance 130

Peter Simoons

APRIL 25, 2021

Drucker mentioned alliances as “ Dangerous liaisons […] which, by the way, very few people understand ”. However, even today, not many people really understand alliances. . That lack of understanding is often the reason why there are relatively high alliance failure rates. In a 1993 HBR interview Peter F.

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Co-Alliance Alliance management 246

Peter Simoons

MARCH 28, 2021

What is alliance success and how do you define it? Some people will immediately connect alliance success to the amount of revenue an alliance generates. If that is the universal view of alliance success, then how should we measure the success of development alliances, those that don’t generate any revenue at all?

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Collaboration 246

Peter Simoons

AUGUST 13, 2023

When I engage in discussions about the significance of an Alliance Health Check, I often encounter unanimous agreement. Everyone acknowledges its importance and recognises the value it can bring to an alliance. It also provides valuable insights for enhancing and fine-tuning the alliance relationship.

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Alliance management Collaboration 130

Peter Simoons

MARCH 14, 2021

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the difference between a partnership and an alliance. They might be observations that you and I as alliance professionals already know about. Alliances & partnerships are still known to be risky endeavours, with a high chance of failure. These are risky statements!

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Alliance partnership 246

Peter Simoons

JANUARY 29, 2023

In one of our previous Alliance Masterclasses one of the participants asked me “ Isn’t it all just common sense? ” We had just discussed the management phase of an alliance. This is also the phase in an alliance where it’s important to keep the collaboration healthy and fruitful. The post Is Alliance Management Common Sense?

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Alliance management Collaboration 130

Peter Simoons

NOVEMBER 19, 2023

Alliance management is a critical function that builds and maintains successful long-term partnerships between organisations. As an Alliance Manager , you juggle multiple tasks, from contract negotiation to cross-team communication and project tracking. Or, should Alliance Managers regard AI as a threat to the profession?

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Alliance management 130

Peter Simoons

JANUARY 31, 2021

No alliance lasts forever and in the case of the EU, one of the alliance members wanted to leave. Alliance exit. An exit in an alliance of companies will generally be less visible, but it will be a similar process. As no alliance lasts forever, it is as such very important to design the alliance for its eventual exit.

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Peter Simoons

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Whether you’re a seasoned professional already involved in different exciting alliances or you’re just dipping your toes into trying collaborative ventures, the right guidance can make all the difference to collaborative success. However, studies tell us that a staggering 50% of these alliances typically fail!

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Collaboration 100

Peter Simoons

JANUARY 15, 2023

That, of course, resonated with me as managing alliances is almost all about relationships and emotional intelligence (EQ). . I usually compare the role of an alliance manager to being a conductor in an orchestra. They need to unify the alliance partners and their team members.

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Alliance management Energy 130

Peter Simoons

NOVEMBER 1, 2020

Whenever I speak to alliance professionals, they all agree that personal alliance relationships help to cement the performance of an alliance. That seems to have removed the ability to build personal alliance relationships. These are all essential elements in building that personal alliance relationship.

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Peter Simoons

JULY 12, 2021

Tip 14: Prepare Your Partnership by Following a Structured Alliance Process. The fact is 80% of ad hoc unstructured business partnerships fail, while 80% of the companies that follow a structured alliance process towards creating partnerships emerge successful. A partnership is created to achieve a goal you cannot achieve easily alone.

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Strategic alliances Alliance structuring Legal Business partnerships 246

Peter Simoons

OCTOBER 9, 2022

I often make comparisons between a journey like the Camino and establishing alliances and partnerships. You set out with a goal in mind and will need to adjust various elements while your alliance journey progresses. Similarly, in alliances strategies might change or for some other reason the goal might not be feasible.

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Alliance strategy 130

Peter Simoons

AUGUST 27, 2023

A recent client conversation brought to mind a valuable lesson I learned about the significance of involving legal expertise in a timely manner relating to the process of forming alliances. Back in the summer of 2003, I found myself amidst a negotiation for an alliance contract between two multinational corporations.

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Legal Collaboration 130

Peter Simoons

NOVEMBER 6, 2022

The report also cited that the CEOs view that “ building strategic alliances with third parties is the most important strategy to help them reach their growth objectives over the next 3 years.”. That’s good news, interest for alliances & partnerships in the boardroom is rising! Not the best use of your alliance skills!

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Strategic alliances Alliance management Partnership management Government 130

Peter Simoons

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

What do you do if your company is approached by another company with a proposal to form an alliance together? You’ll ask whether the proposed alliance fits with your strategy? Is forming an alliance the best option? Communicate that you will enter into conversations to explore the proposed alliance opportunity.

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Alliance strategy Alliance management 211

ISTO / IEEE

OCTOBER 24, 2023

In recognition of MIPI’s 20th anniversary, IEEE-ISTO Board Chairman & Officer Yatin Trivedi joined us at the June MIPI Alliance Member Meeting in San Jose, where he highlighted the valued relationship and shared history of the two organizations (pictured with MIPI Executive Director Peter Lefkin and MIPI Chair Sanjiv Desai).

Energy 130

Energy Ecosystems Collaboration 130

Peter Simoons

NOVEMBER 20, 2022

In my previous column I mentioned that alliance management is a separate profession and that the profession, together with a structured process, is needed to drive alliances to success. In other words, alliance managers are critical for the success of an alliance. Alliance managers are special types of business people.

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Alliance management 130

Peter Simoons

DECEMBER 13, 2020

Recently I presented to Dr. Brian Tjemkes’ Alliances, Mergers and Networks Program at the VU University in Amsterdam. In those follow up conversations a number of them asked me the best route to becoming an alliance manager. A few years ago I wrote about the skills of an alliance manager. Nevertheless it was highly interactive.

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Alliance management Credit Engineering 246

Peter Simoons

DECEMBER 18, 2022

A few years ago, a client approached me asking if I could step in for a newly-hired alliance manager who was desperately needed in the business, but not yet available to make the move. After thoroughly onboarding the new alliance manager when she eventually became available, the assignment was completed in 14 months. Absolutely!

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Alliance management 130

PartnerTap

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

As companies continue to shift to a remote model, it’s important to understand the impact and digital transformation strategic alliances have gone through. According to McKinsey and Company , most large companies have around 30 alliances, and many have more than 100. COVID-19 has drastically changed the way we do business.

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