Simoons & Company - Latest Comments

Re: What is in your Alliance Lifecycle?

Peter Simoons — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:35:36 -0000

Lou thanks for joining the conversation. The negotiation versus formation debate is an interesting one. What we often do is negotiate a term sheet before formation and negotiate the actual contract after or during the formation phase. That phase will shed more light on the elements that need to be negotiated and sometimes these steps need to go hand in hand.

Agree completely with you on executive sponsorship; it needs to be on board early on in step 1 already and continuously throughout the alliance (also through a clear governance structure) else an alliances is often doomed to fail.

Re: What is in your Alliance Lifecycle?

Lou Valdini — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 06:15:39 -0000

I would agree that Negotiation should come before Alliance Formation. Why waste a whole heap of effort forming an alliance, only for it to fall apart because one of the members cannot agree terms. I would also agree that the most successul alliances are underpinned by executive sponsorship (from both sides) and continous improvement through governance/management.

Re: What is in your Alliance Lifecycle?

Peter Simoons — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:17:46 -0000

Xavier, thanks for your comment and pointing to the missing item. I agree with the importance of the steps you mentioned, for me they are integral part of step 1: "opportunity identification". Would you prefer to make separate steps for these actions?

Re: What is in your Alliance Lifecycle?

Peter Simoons — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 11:11:11 -0000

Thanks Craig, agree the number of steps might be irrelevant, it is more about the process and the fact that is really been thought about laying a proper foundation for a future partnership.

Re: What is in your Alliance Lifecycle?

Xavier De Grove — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:21:32 -0000

I developed the global partner recruitment process for SAP in 2005, and it was indeed very consistent with the framework above. A key dimension that is missing though is somehow the capacity planning and white space analysis i.e., from a vendor point of view, where do i need resellers and / or service partners, in which industries, etc ... It may sound trivial but is actually the foundation of proper partner revruitment ... And hence of succesful win-win partnerships.

Re: What is in your Alliance Lifecycle?

Craigbattleman — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 07:37:56 -0000

My experience is that the exact number of steps (be it six or eight) or the exact names of the steps (transition or implementation) are not as important as the work that supports the identification, development, implementation, and ongoing management of the alliance.

Re: Bonjour tegen de anonieme maatschappij

Peter Simoons — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:24:13 -0000

Hi Marjanne,

Dank voor je reactie! Het gaat mij niet zo zeer om nieuw of oud in het algemeen, danwel dat mensen er goed aan doen open te staan voor anderen en ontwikkelingen. Juist dan sta je open voor mogelijkheden. In de anonimiteit cq zelfgerichtheid van veel mensen nu zal dat niet gebeuren. Voor wat betreft de protesten denk ik juist dat ageren niet veel zin heeft. Stakers zien meestal geen mogelijkheden, maar alleen het "goede" van het verleden. Het is juist zinvol om, door open te staan, van de noodzakelijke veranderingen de vruchten te plukken door de mogelijkheden te zien. Dat kan alleen als je open staat voor anderen. Het simpel groeten is uiteraard een metafoor, maar wel een essentiële, zonder die basis zal contact maken en mogelijkheden zien moeilijk zijn.

Peter

Re: Bonjour tegen de anonieme maatschappij

Marjanne Simoons — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:30:21 -0000

Hoi Peter,
Je vergelijking begrijp ik wel, maar ik had even de indruk dat jij bij het 'groeten' juist degene bent die een oude gewoonte blijft hanteren. Vroeger was het immers heel gewoon om iedereen te groeten in je nabije omgeving. Zelfs hier in het oosten van het land, is het nog steeds 'gewoon'. Wat jij graag wilt, is dus geen nieuwe ontwikkeling, maar behoud van het oude. Dat is precies wat stakers willen.
Overigens heb ik de indruk dat de 'occupy' beweging meer in het geweer komt tegen de malafide praktijken en verrijkingen die er in de financiële wereld plaats vinden, niet zo zeer tegen gezonde verandering. Sterker nog: ze willen juist graag dat er een verandering plaats vindt die voor onze maatschappij veel gezonder is!
Zonnige groet,
Marjanne Simoons

Re: A CEO’s view on Alliances and Alliance Management

Peter Simoons — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 12:06:33 -0000

Thanks for your comments Bill, I fully agree that a bad partnership has its downside too! So know when to say No to or to stop a partnership is very important. Actually that was more or less another topic in one of the presentations at the conference: measuring the performance of an alliance portfolio and taking actions on it!

Re: A CEO’s view on Alliances and Alliance Management

Bill Lapcevic — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:48:54 -0000

Interesting article. I agree that Partnerships can be a real difference maker, both revenue wise and moreso, equity wise. By equity I mean: Making a company appear bigger than it actually is and driving the value of the stock price up. In my opinion BD/Alliances is charged with creating the relationships with partners to both facilitate direct sales as well as create a halo of marketing/awareness that ensures everyone knows about the company.

However, as you've pointed out, unless the whole organization buys into it...this will never happen. BD/Alliances rarely, if ever, has it's own resources to actually "do" anything. In our organization we constantly have to siphon off engineering, marketing, G&A, and field technical resources from their primary responsibilities in order to transform any agreement into reality.

Ultimately the culture of the company has to be one of partnership. The entire company needs to understand the multiplying effect a good partnership can have on the organization's value to the stakeholders. This culture needs to start early, and needs to start with the Founder/CEO.

Beware too: a Bad Partnership can sink an organization with distraction and use of key resources in unproductive ways. Better to pass on a marginal partnership then spend lots of time and energy trying to "make it work" no matter what your organizational culture says about partnerships.

Re: Social Media Workshops

spreker — Wed, 04 May 2011 09:30:30 -0000

Workshops over social media zijn altijd een eye opener voor degenen die er nooit echt bij stil hebben gestaan wat de vele mogelijkheden zijn.

Re: Social Media Workshop voor gemeentes

Peter Simoons — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:19:32 -0000

Dank voor je reactie Joep

Re: Social Media Workshop voor gemeentes

Joep Wijman — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 08:27:45 -0000

Prima en informatief. Presentatie goede leiddraad. Compliment, Peter!

Re: Het Hootsuite Professional certificaat

Peter Simoons — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 03:36:01 -0000

Thanks @HootWatch, I am looking forward to even more added value :)

Re: Het Hootsuite Professional certificaat

HootWatch — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:26:05 -0000

Thanks for sharing the news about the HootSuite Learning Program - there are a few more refinements coming to make it even better.

Re: How strategic are your alliances?

Peter Simoons — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:25:22 -0000

Thanks Gianluca for your reply!
I agree a list of strategic alliances on a website would be great, when you have examples of companies who do so please share them here.

Re: How strategic are your alliances?

Gianluca Marcellino — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:06:00 -0000

On a website, mention of a strategic alliance is good. A list of strategic alliances is better.

Re: Adjust your LinkedIn message settings

Peter Simoons — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 05:42:23 -0000

Thanks for your response Peter. When you mouse over your name in the top right corner of the LinkedIn home screen you will see a small menu showing. It includes the link to the "settings" screen.

Re: Adjust your LinkedIn message settings

Peter Langfield — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 05:24:12 -0000

can't see a "settings" but following the “receiving messages” link worked wonders, cheers for the tip!

Re: Ondernemen in Naarden-Bussum

erica de mars — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 07:29:47 -0000

Het oude postkantoor is ook mijn eerste ingeving, wellicht in combinatie met een horecavoorziening.

Re: Ondernemen in Naarden-Bussum

Peter Simoons — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 08:39:32 -0000

Dat was een van de eerste locaties die in mijn gedachte kwam, valt eigenlijk net buiten het ideale gebied. Is niet op loopafstand van het station maar heeft zeker mogelijkheden.

Re: Ondernemen in Naarden-Bussum

Mayke Herberts — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 04:49:54 -0000

Het oude postkantoor?

Re: If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse – Henry Ford

Peter Simoons — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:29:10 -0000

Thanks for your comments Yuri! Finding your WHY is challenging, but rewarding indeed!

Re: If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse – Henry Ford

Yuri Gómez — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:53:12 -0000

Amazing! it's very difficult find your WHY, but once you got it, everything changes

Re: Internal social media experiences

Peter Simoons — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 08:18:17 -0000

Luis, thanks for your response. I recognize the struggle when it comes to naming. Social Media in general is already an overhyped term let alone within an organization behind the firewall. Will check the links you provided!