January 2005

he history of successful partnerships proves the adage that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Consider Lewis and Clark, who helped open a vast, uncharted frontier for an ambitious, infant nation 200 years ago. Or Rogers and Hammerstein, whose musical theater collaboration has rarely been matched.

The beauty of good partnerships is that they expand resources, influence, potential and results. Simply put, good partnerships produce good results, whether they are forged between solo entrepreneurs, between departments within a company or between any imaginable configuration of individuals, programs, organizations or initiatives.

At a 1996 summit sponsored by the Drucker Foundation, leaders of all persuasions agreed that the challenges facing government, business, nonprofit organizations and society as a whole are too great to be addressed by any one sector. All leaders, to succeed, must build bridges, they said.

But such collaborations don't just happen. To be sure, people can find themselves thrown together to get a particular job done or partnering with another out of convenience. Such partnerships, however, can produce as many problems as solutions.

For partnerships to be productive, the partners must be compatible in vision, approach and work processes; they must know how to communicate with each other, when to stand firm on an issue, and when to compromise. The participants must share risks and responsibilities, and treat each other fairly. This kind of relationship fosters trust, which in turn, is the foundation of a successful endeavor.

Productive partnerships take many forms, from informal collaborations and alliances to formal partner agreements. Internet technologies also facilitate easy-to-track affiliate relationships and offer potential for building effective partnerships anywhere in the world.

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