Hartley Bernstein reveals keys to successful strategic alliances

The world is so linked now that strategic alliances have become a necessity. A famous case is of Apple and Samsung. They are bitter rivals in the smartphone market. Yet, few people are aware that Samsung makes devices for Apple. This is a case of a successful strategic alliance - where companies collaborate for their mutual benefit.

Strategic alliances are productive. They can be extremely useful to a company. The key is to forge them in the right way with the right partners.

The following paragraphs are a very short Hartley Bernstein guide to forming successful strategic alliances:

• ·         Go for the right partners - It costs money and trust to forge an alliance. Companies cannot afford to make mistakes and choose the wrong partners - who will spoil their brand and cost them enormous amounts of money. The right partner is the one who is well placed to meet your strategic goals.
• ·         Do not hide information - If you have to hide information, you have probably chosen a wrong partner. An alliance is successful when both partners share relevant information. If the companies are in the field of intellectual property, an alliance may involve complicated deals - which only the most experienced lawyers can understand.
• ·         Negotiate - Alliances are financially rewarding. The key is to negotiate. Some companies negotiate better than others. Consequently, they form better alliances and reap more awards. IBM is often cited as the emblem of a company with sharp negotiation skills. A shade less than a third of the company revenues come from its excellent negotiation skills.
• ·        Be realistic - Strategic alliances are a wonderful tool to improve revenues. They are immensely useful when a company is spreading into newer markets. Therefore, it is not unusual for expectations to be sky-high. Alliances are not magic pills. It takes time before results are visible. Therefore, a good idea is to have realistic expectations.
• ·         Flexible - Markets are capricious. It is hard to predict them with absolute certainly. A way to forge successful strategic alliances is to keep them flexible, so that partners can change their strategies and edit initial plans to suit market conditions. It avoids friction in future.

These are Hartley Bernstein’s five tips on making successful strategic alliances. Hartley Bernstein is a New York based attorney, who has represented more hundreds of corporate clients in state and federal courts during his more than 35 years of practice.