Is there a recession on the horizon for 2023? Some economists say we are already in one and many others are predicting one for the coming year. Still, other economists point to a growing GDP. I'm not an economist and would not be foolish enough to enter my prediction. Though I do like Fortune magazine's [...]
As Published in Forbes.com Great customer experience (CX) fuels revenue growth. This statement sounds like common sense—plain, simple and supported by many studies over the years. However, it takes on new meaning in today’s world as analysts, sales leaders and executives alike agree the customer journey has forever changed. CX is the crucial element that [...]
As recently published in Forbes.com According to Forrester, 75% of world trade goes through or involves a partner before it is delivered to the end-user. This underscores that partners are an increasingly important route to market. For some businesses, it is your partner who provides the customer experience. So how can you be sure your partners have [...]
As we enter the Era of Ecosystems, it is apparent that we need a different approach and thinking to manage these multi-dimensional and multi-lateral business relationships. I believe that the partner management processes we have developed as a profession are still relevant, but we do need to rethink how we apply them. Nine-way governance models [...]
originally published in Forbes.com | Organizations often comply and certify to international standards as a normal course of business, like brushing your teeth in the morning. Or they might certify because certain contracts or customers require it. This is like your mom telling you to brush your teeth. This is especially true of the well-known [...]
Have you rethought your partner ecosystem strategy in terms of what new opportunities lie ahead? Are you prepared to find the opportunity in disruption? We can assume that business as usual is not going to work in today's volatile business climate because business has become unusual. Yet, disruptive times are times of great opportunity for [...]
Published by TIDWIT Inc. at June 2, 2020 An interview with Norma Watenpaugh, CEO & Founding Principal, Phoenix Consulting Group Q: You have been involved with the channel and emerging ecosystems for some time. How has the concept of partnership evolved over the past several years? NW: I would not say the concept of partnership has evolved so [...]
Building a partner ecosystem is hard. But what's harder than building an ecosystem? Building a culture that supports an ecosystem strategy. I spoke with one executive who was responsible for building the partner ecosystem at a well-known payroll processor, and our discussion perfectly illustrated this challenge. The executive's decades-old company was expanding beyond payroll processing [...]
In early 2018, my colleague Laura Powers, an Agilest Icon, and I held a workshop on Agile Partnering. One of our attendees was Kristina Scott, Sr. Director Partner Enablement, Marketing, Operations at Seclore. Seclore is an emerging security software startup with a broad ecosystem of channels, technology alliances and OEMs. A year after the workshop, [...]
or How to Build Successful Partnerships with the Competition as published in Forbes.com. In the complex landscape of today’s business ecosystems, it is almost inevitable that companies with a large network of partners are, in fact, competing with some of those same partners. This has given us "co-opetition," a term that is derived from "cooperative [...]