When planning to form an alliance with another business, do your research. Become knowledgeable on all of the ways you can make your new alliance successful. However, you also want to be aware of the obstacles that destroy business alliances and make sure to avoid them.
In this post, we will discuss three reasons why business alliances fail.
- Inability to Adapt: When two businesses form a partnership, the ability for both entities to adapt and be flexible is essential. Without adaptability, there is no way the relationship can flourish. The relationship burns out quickly. Both businesses need to be prepared for changing circumstances that will most assuredly come. Monitor the relationship regularly to ensure everyone is on the same page.
- No Shared Vision: “Where there is no vision the people perish”. Same goes for businesses. If two businesses can’t get on the same page, thoroughly discuss the vision and long-term goals they have. Then decide to commit to that vision together. Otherwise, the alliance will cease to exist. The easiest way to ruin an alliance is to let a disconnect between the two businesses go unfixed. Both sides need to determine what are their conditions of success that they want to achieve in 3-5 years. These are the basis of the shared vision.
- An Investment Imbalance: When one business over-invests, while the other business under-invests, it’s a recipe for disaster. Both businesses should discuss the level of effort and monetary and time investment that will be put into the alliance. It is also imperative that both businesses are sure they have all of the resources they need to make the investment in the alliance that they planned on.
- Lack of communication causes more failures for alliances than any other factor. With regular interaction these 3 failures points are avoided.
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