Cover page for Have You Considered a Strategic Alliance for Your Business or Organization?, by Rick Bowers. Two women facing each other and smiling.

I immediately started brainstorming a plan for what I could offer DWD and what it could offer RESILIENCE magazine.

Basically, RESILIENCE would help spread the word about DWD and its activities and provide content that could be reused on DWD’s website, in its newsletter, and in its social media. This would also help DWD gain more subscribers and showcase its activities. As an older, more established entity, DWD would help RESILIENCE establish more authority in the disability community, help spread the word about it, and help it gain more subscribers. If it worked out as planned, each entity would gain value of tens of thousands of dollars in the short term and, depending on how long we worked together as allies, hundreds of thousands in the long term.

I was excited. It would be a win-win situation.

We are now in the process of implementing that plan and hope it will bear fruit for each of our entities for years to come.

Such alliances are agreements between businesses or organizations to work together toward goals. Even if their goals aren’t necessarily the same, the actions they take may contribute to the other’s goals as well as their own. These alliances might be co-marketing efforts, licensing agreements, distribution agreements, joint ventures or other types of associations.

Here are a couple of examples of large-scale strategic alliances:

  • Rotary International allied with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help defeat polio around the world. While expertise and funds are provided by the Gates Foundation, Rotary International provides volunteer workers.
  • UNICEF allied with Procter & Gamble to help reach communities in need and provide them with safe drinking water. P&G supplies water-purifying products, and UNICEF gets them to those who need safe drinking water in areas it can reach.

Win-wins.

Two smiling strategic allies. Image produced using Midjourney.
Image produced using Midjourney.

As noted, there are many benefits to these arrangements, but there also potential cons.

Here are a few of the potential benefits first:

1. Reduced expenses for each. By distributing each other’s information, for example, they can get their information to more people without increasing their own distribution, marketing and advertising costs. This can help each of them increase their market share without breaking the bank.

2. Resource-sharing. Depending on the arrangement, they could also benefit from each other’s equipment or staff, for example.

3. Sharing the risks on efforts that might not succeed.

4. Strengthen the weak areas in their operations by using the strength of their ally in those areas.

5. Strengthen their own position and authority by being associated with their ally’s numbers, expertise or reputation. This can make each organization appear larger and more established than it really is.

Here are a few potential cons:

1. Conflicts of interest and disagreements. It is important that the missions and principles of the allies don’t conflict with each other to minimize this possibility.

2. Overdependence. If an entity is depending too heavily on a partner for any aspect of its operations, what happens if they break up?

3. Partial loss of control in decision-making.

In most cases, the pros will likely outweigh the cons as long as the terms of the agreement are carefully thought out, there is no competition between the allies, and the leaders of the entities get along well and respect each other.

As with any deal that founders decide to make, it’s important to evaluate it carefully, vet your potential allies carefully, develop open and transparent plans and communications, and agree on your expectations for each other.

Two people pushing and pulling to get a donkey to move. Image produced using Midjourney.
Image produced using Midjourney.

Six Signs of a Great Potential Ally

If it’s a win-win for each entity, it is likely to remain strong. If one party benefits much less than the other, it might want to end the relationship because it isn’t getting enough value in return for its investment.

Do they have a similar culture, communication style, and way of doing things, or will the two parties clash when it comes to actually working together?

In many relationships today, this will not be an important consideration since technology has made geographic distance less of a concern. In many cases, it won’t matter at all.

“Allyship should be a verb because being an active supporter is not a sideline sport.” – Donna Walton

Two allies smile, and one holds up a fist as a symbol of victory. Image produced using Midjourney.
Image produced using Midjourney.

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