Powerlinx Blog

The Old Model of Business Competition is Dead

Partnership expert Prof Ben Gomes-Casseres explains that the age of firms competing against other firms, one on one, is over. In the future groups of businesses will compete against other groups, making it crucial to find the right strategic partners to compete on your team.

Start building your team of strategic partners on Powerlinx and get ahead of your competition – sign up or log in today.

 

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The Three Rules for a Successful Partnership

Partnership expert Prof Ben Gomes-Casseres explains the three rules your business needs to follow to ensure a successful partnership.

Construct synergy

1 + 1 = 3

When a business works with the right strategic partner, both parties bring something to the table that the other cannot. They can therefore create more value together than either could on their own.

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A Partnership is Not a Purchase Order

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By Ben Gomes-Casseres, Advisor to Powerlinx, and author of Remix Strategy: The Three Laws of Business Combinations

Scott McNealy, ex-CEO of Sun Microsystems, tweeted this message some time ago:

“Most over used phrase in business is ‘strategic partner.’ Favorite partnership for me is a purchase order. Defined charter, beginning, end.”

Unfortunately, this view is precisely why many external partnerships fail. True collaboration is much more than a purchase order. Setting up an external partnership as if it were a PO, at best, leaves value on the table. At worst, it leads to conflict and value destruction.
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12 Things to Consider When Expanding Abroad

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The world is changing at an ever-increasing pace, driven by globalization. Companies that withstood the global financial crisis continue to seek opportunities overseas to prosper from the remarkable growth in emerging markets.

The Globalization Index confirms that ambitious international expansion will remain the overall trend in the world economy. Data reveals that many businesses are rushing to employ their international expansion strategies, which indicates the strong desire by entrepreneurs to be ahead of others and capitalize on new market developments.

This white paper focuses on some core aspects that should be considered by businesses when developing and implementing an international expansion strategy.

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New White Paper: Digital Partner Sourcing

digital partner sourcing

Last year, Powerlinx sponsored “Grow From the Right Intro,” a report that opened up the conversation around the role strategic partnerships play in business growth strategies around the world. Though the report found that 85% of executives feel that partnerships are important to their businesses, many respondents reported difficulties in finding the right partner.

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4 Qualities of Great Business Partnerships

great business partnerships

What makes for great business partnerships? A successful partnership? Partnerships offer a wealth of opportunities for growth – when they occur between the right businesses. To succeed, partnerships require more than complementary goals and audiences; partnerships can only thrive when their partnership managers themselves get along.
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Partnerships Matter: How Cloudera and Cask Plan to Make Big Data Analytics Easier

clouder and cask big data partnership

Welcome to Partnerships Matter, our column on businesses changing lives and growing their operations through strategic partnerships and collaboration. In this edition, we highlight the advances being made in big data analytics through the collaboration of leading Hadoop advocates Cloudera and Cask. READ MORE

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Partnerships Matter: How Ayla and REGEN Are Collaborating to Help Businesses Save on Energy

energy partnership between ayla networks and regen around internet of things

Welcome to Partnerships Matter, our column on businesses changing lives and growing their operations through strategic partnerships and collaboration. In this first edition, we explore how Ayla Networks and REGEN Energy are collaborating to help businesses save on energy through the Internet of Things. READ MORE

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Free eBook: Strategic Partnerships Shaping Business in 2015

strategic partnerships shaping business in 2015

2014 saw a shift in the way businesses around the world experience growth. Namely partnerships and alliances are leading businesses, both SMBs and enterprise alike, to expand cross-border, shorten their supply chains, strengthen their local economies and more. Industries like technology, education, healthcare and more have all benefitted and innovated through alliances between businesses – and in some cases, even between competitors. READ MORE

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The Fine Art of Partnering: Why Every Partnership Is like a Picasso

fine art of partnering

Like fine art, fine business partnerships are created through a high level of nurtured skill and craftsmanship, with the most effective strategic partnerships demanding the same continual refinement and appraisal as fine art. READ MORE

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