business alliances

When suppliers get caught in customer’s drama.... (sigh). When I see it happening, it is usually at post-award at QBRs etc. I metaphorically envision the supplier’s clothing getting caught in the customer’s moving gears – their approval process, their lack of an approval process, their culture, or political infighting. I recently witnessed one such episode and felt compassion for the supplier. I called my colleague Carol Bowser for advice. Carol is a former employment lawyer who provides workplace conflict management training and mediation services. She is one of the top 30 people to follow-on conflict management on Linked In, and has a conflict tip of the day and a newsletter with tips, techniques and conversation starters.  

 Carol had some great insights about why meetings go off the rails. Listen as she discusses the importance of understanding Goals, Roles, Guidelines and Ground Rules. Carol has so much to say about managing conflict in the work place. You can find her at conflictmanagementstrategies.com, and in LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-bowser-2a65691/

My guest, Peter Simoons, is the co-founder of the Alliance Accelerator and the Alliance Roundtable.  Alliances and non-legal partnerships are an excellent vehicle for growth, even during difficult economic times. In fact, according to the Art of Procurement, approximately 30% of Chief Procurement Officers have growth as their number 1 goal in 2021. In order to achieve success as an alliance member though, members have to follow the alliance life cycle, and embrace collaboration. In this podcast, Peter talks about the alliance success journey and explains why our future includes collaboration.

About Peter Simoons: Alliance specialist and coach, Peter Simoons helps people and companies around the world to deliver stellar results through their alliances and partnerships. Peter likes to keep his work with clients practical, so he helps you find solutions that are easily implemented into your own work – leading to fast results.

For more information about Peter and best in class alliances, visit petersimoons.com  and alliancemasterclass.com.