Kate Vitasek

Faculty, University of Tennessee’s Center for Executive Education and Founder of Supply Chain Visions

www.vestedway.com

Author, educator and business consultant Kate Vitasek is an internationally recognized innovator in the practice of supply chain management and outsourcing.  Vitasek’s approaches and insights have been widely published in over 200 articles, including her popular book Vested Outsourcing: Five Rules that will Transform Outsourcing.   World Trade Magazine named Vitasek to their list of the 50 most influential people and ideas impacting global trade. Vitasek is a faculty member at the University of Tennessee’s Center for Executive Education and is the Founder of Supply Chain Visions - a Top 10 Boutique Consulting firm specializing in Supply Chain Management. 

Strategic partnerships are critical to any brand's success, but choosing the right partner can be easier said than done. Choose the wrong partner, and your brand will suffer badly. Compare the process of developing a business partnership with the practice of courtship used when seeking a life partner you intend to marry. You should spend time getting to know your potential partner and should research his or her background, reputation and credibility before you solidify the relationship. Owner operators are rarely able to keep up the management of the company on their own. Even if you are a “Jack of all trades”, you will rarely be a master in every field. The ideal partnership is formed with two people who complement each other. Historically, your search would probably have involved networking through the Chamber of Commerce, but online social networking on sites like LinkedIn and Facebook are more popular today. Experts advise putting the word out and sharing your idea. Once you have people interested, according to David Nour, Thought Leader on Relationship Economics, on mashable.com, “You need to turn friends and followers into active, interested social currency.” But like all relationships, business partnerships can fail so you need to weigh up the pros and cons. Dennis Jaffe, a consultant quoted in an inc.com article, suggested drawing up a statement of expectations together before signing a legal agreement. Consider all potential future scenarios and write these into your contract. Include an exit strategy for peace of mind and a fair outcome should the partnership go pear-shaped. Conversely, some people believe it is more important to be thinking about things that will make the business successful rather than how to escape the situation. Whatever you decide, demonstrate unquestionable integrity at all times and conduct your research and background checks thoroughly. To turn this evolution into an advantage for your business, consider the following. Evolve your strategic partnerships with the times. Seek a culture fit with strategic partners. Avoid strategic partners with opposite cultures.Let your strategic partners lead… and perhaps the hardest part… Offer strategic partners stability for top results.