5 tips for completing a self audit before you start a strategic alliance

My favourite  strategic alliance quote is taken from an African proverb – “To go fast, go alone. To go far, go togther.” Yet often when we approach people about forming strategic alliances, we approach them “cap in hand” so to speak – as if they are doing us a favour by saying yes. Rather than valuing what we have to offer an alliance. For your own sense of self worth, I recommend that you complete the following exercise prior to setting up a strategic alliance.

1. CONSIDER YOUR NETWORKS – how large are your networks, how diverse, what industries do they cross, how geographically diverse are they? How percentage of your network would  be advocates for you?

2. WORK HISTORY – what skills are you currently using in your current role as well as all your past positions? What other skills do you have that you may have developed in special interest groups or peer groups? What skills are a little rusty and just need a little top up to bring you back to speed?

3. LIFE EXPERIENCES – we are not our jobs or the titles on our business card. We are people who have had a lifetime of experiences both negative and positive that we bring to every meeting we attend or network we break into. Of course none of these experiences are obvious to look at us. You may have lived in another country for your school years – that doesn’t show now, but what a gift to bring to an alliance when someone is wanting to do business in that country. Local knowledge is invaluable. You have knowlege that is not written in the guide books or the general websites. Your life experiences are your real gifts to your networks and alliances.

4. PASSION – we are all passionate about something – for some it’s a sporting team, a political cause, a charity, our future, our children and our career and business. Coupled with our life experiences our passions are incredibly valuable.

5. RESOURCES – this is a very descriptive word and covers available income to invest in this project/alliance, available time to commit to the outcomes, potential staff members that you can lend to the project administrative duties, you may have a virtual assistant who you can delegate some of the work to, you may step up as the leader of the project, or more importantly the person who ensures the project is completed.

Based on your responses to these five points, my intention is to make you realise just how valuable you are to the success of the alliance. Never again go cap in hand to anything – you have thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of invaluable gifts and knowledge to bring to every network, alliance and opportunity that will come across your path this week, this month or this year.

When you value you, other people value you too!