An overview of an approach to establishing strategic partnerships and business relationships to drive value, extend market reach and build stronger organizations.
2. Introduction
Michael Cairns is a publishing and media executive with over 25 years experience in
business strategy, operations and technology implementation. As a business
executive, Mr. Cairns has successfully managed several troubled and under-
performing businesses, creating new business opportunities, developing new funding
sources and enhancing shareholder value for investors. His years spent as an
operating executive have largely been with brand-name publishing companies such
as Macmillan, Inc., Berlitz International, Wolters Kluwer Health, Reed Elsevier and
R.R. Bowker. As a consultant, Mr. Cairns has worked with clients as diverse as
AARP, Hewlett Packard, InterPublic Companies and Reed Elsevier with an emphasis
on business strategy, market development and corporate development.
His skills and experience include:
Business and corporate strategy development and implementation
Operations management and business transformation
Traditional and digital publishing and operations
Print-to-digital transformation and adoption of new business models
Software development and software services
Mr. Cairns holds an MBA (Finance) from Georgetown University and a BA from
Boston University. He has served on several boards and advisory groups including
the Association of American Publishers, Book Industry Study Group and the
International ISBN organization. Additionally, he has public and private company
board experience.
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Michael Cairns
Information Media Partners
Strategy Consulting
New York, London, Melbourne
Tel: 908 938 4889
Michael.cairns@infomediapartners.com
Find me:
LinkedIn
3. Information Media Partners
Michael Cairns established Information Media Partners in 2006 as a boutique strategy
consulting firm focused on the information and education publishing segment. The work
conducted by the firm includes product development, corporate development, sales
management and corporate reorganizations. We work with established businesses, private
equity owners and potential acquirers.
Examples of our work include:
Reorganized and re-focused a $25 million software publishing company by aligning
business operations with client priorities; implementing internal collaboration tools and
project management standards; re-building executive team to focus on effective and
efficient management
Defined a new business strategy for a large non-profit association and advocacy group,
expanding their business model into global markets to exploit their core knowledge and
expertise across a broader market
Led an information technology capabilities review at a large international advertising
holding company. Completed over 200 interviews in 15 international offices and multiple
group focus sessions to define the operational ‘gaps’ between existing agency capabilities
and those necessary and important for client delivery by region
Completed a sales management effectiveness review for a global software company and
defined six key project initiatives to improve sales effectiveness, market development and
account management
We approach our client engagements in a standardized, logical manner which creates the best
environment to identify key business drivers, administrative and logistical road blocks and/or
product or market definition issues. Our investigative approach leads to better insights into
your businesses and supports the development of workable solutions and recommendations
for success.
Visit the Information Media Partners website for more information.
Sample Client List
5. Essential requirements
“Must” have an active desire to work together:
Mutual interest in specific success/outcomes
Partner must have market/product experience
Should be willing to motivate sales staff to sell
partner products
Invest in internal training, marketing & literature to
support partner products
Partner should be willing to work collaboratively
Provide full service and support to customers
Must have stable management/relationship
6. How mature is your business?
Functions well defined?
Processes efficient and economical
Management team properly motivated
Management and staff understand objectives
Do you have documentation?
Do you have shareable knowledge and
expertise?
Do your staff have time to manage partners?
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8. Reasons to consider partnerships
Structural drivers
Globalization
Homogenization of
markets
Fierce competition
Technological drivers
Cost of R&D
Complexity of
products
Speed of
technological
developments
9. Best Practices in Building Partnerships
Common objectives
Communication
Governance structures
Stakeholder involvement
Training opportunities
10. Partnerships characteristics
Essential part of international corporate strategies
Make up for the lack of economic power,
competence, foreign experience
Allows cost- and risk- sharing
Market intelligence to monitor new markets and
monitor particular fields of technology
Reduce lead times for innovative products
To access competitively priced resources (labour)
Technology transfer
11. Common objectives
Document partnership with Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU)
Clearly outline each party’s commitment, both financial and in-
kind
Gain agreement internally for partnership program:
Staff, management, board of directors, existing
customers
Identify potential partners and establish relationships
“Test” relationship if possible
Meet and visit partners
Determine capabilities of the partner: Speak to other
partners/supplier to the partner
Agree common objectives with the partner
Define specific goals for agreement process
Set time limit for initial agreement
12. Communication
Establish clear goals with partner and communication
internally and externally
Ongoing communication with all stakeholders (partner,
management, customers, etc.)
Full-time project co-ordinator or facilitator
• Works for the partnership project
• Point of contact for stakeholders
Development of common tools for information sharing
with stakeholders as well as with greater audiences
Frequent meetings: updates, strategy sessions, product
development
Share marketing and promotion materials and objectives
Websites, web portals, etc.
Social networking sites
13. Governance structures
Provide a clear, well-developed governance
structure (e.g. steering committee, sub-committees,
working groups – as appropriate)
Use a decision-making process that incorporates all
stakeholders
Ensuring the active participation of all stakeholders at the
table
Ensure conflict resolution mechanisms are in place
Managing competing interests and priorities in the
partnership
Develop performance evaluation frameworks in
collaboration with stakeholders
Ensuring that the deliverables and activities are carried
out according to schedule
14. Stakeholder involvement
Define roles and responsibilities for all partners at the
start
Ensure the active participation of all stakeholders over
the course of the project
Establish common goals and priorities in consultation
with stakeholders
Delegate tasks according to capacity and expertise
Share resources equitably, and ensure a reasonable
“buy-in” on the project from the partners
Cash or in-kind contributions, including:
• Personnel
• Access to facilities or facilitating interaction with other
organizations/communities
• Knowledge mobilization activities
15. Training opportunities
Ensure the meaningful involvement of key staff
Working with partnering organizations
Hands-on skills
Ensure capacity-building and learning by:
Integrating partnering organizations into project
plans
• For example, training personnel from partnering
organizations to conduct interviews, organize
events, present at conferences, etc.
Fostering the exchange of knowledge and expertise
between all the stakeholders of the project
18. Developing a partnership project
Plan to ensure the sustainability of the partnership
Set realistic, attainable goals (but be flexible)
Validate objectives and plans with the stakeholders even in the
development phases
Enable a process for the partner to provide active feedback to allow
for changes in activities and processes
An assessment or self-assessment mechanism that allows the team to
evaluate its activities and the quality of the partnership
Ensure that the project has the necessary stakeholders on board to
successfully achieve its goals
Continue to recruit new partners over the course of the project
Identify potential interested partners through networking opportunities,
including:
• External events
• Contacts in the field
• Existing projects and partnerships
• Social networking
19. Building consensus/negotiation
What are the possible and desirable outcomes?
Clearly determine each party’s need(s) from the
partnership
Clearly understand the strategic objectives of the
companies
Partner choice and negotiation
Identify a champion to lead the relationship
Treat the partnership agreement as a living
document
Understand that the comparative advantages of
partners at the outset of the agreement may change
over time
20. Disputes
Partnership agreements must contain sound
provisions for dispute resolution, and the exit
mechanism to be employed in terminating the
partnership in the event of irreconcilable
differences
21. Planning stage
Rules on assigning sales credit and market
development and support
Establishing rules for data (including format,
quality assurance, storage, access and retrieval)
How to synchronize funding from different
sources
Costs of collaboration
22. Sensitive issues
Be aware that technology transfer is one of the
most sensitive and contentious issues
Create clear provisions for a framework of
technology use in the partnership
Concerns on ownership, IP and control
Management of IP can present serious barriers
to the development and maintenance of
partnerships
24. Implementation summary
Monitor and review the partnership throughout
its lifetime
Phased projects with achievable milestones
Start with a pilot project
Project monitoring across national boundaries,
how to manage these?
Scheduling regular face-to-face meetings
Communicate often
Rotating leadership
Human resource issues
26. Ingenta: Establish re-seller market
Sell Ingenta software products in different markets,
geographies and verticals through 3rd parties
Transform operations in line with a product
organisation, from a systems integrator/bespoke
software company
Introduce a “product” culture, focusing on
collaboration, internally & with partners – make
everyone feel they are part of the process and
decision making
Use technology to benefit our own organisation, not
just our customers
Become “leading” edge
27. Reseller requirements
“Must” have an active desire to sell the product not
to just become another product on a list
Must be skilled in selling software systems that have
a long sales cycle
Willing to commission the salespeople on 3rd party
products, plus invest in internal training, marketing &
literature
Willing to collaborate: Help Ingenta increase level of
“business/product maturity”
Must have a desire to deliver all professional
services
Must have stable management/relationship with
Ingenta
28. Reseller program strategic benefits
Reseller and
partnership
models
represent a
significant
strategic
opportunity
Skills
Enhanced skill sets
Reduced risk
Sales
Joint business development, opens doors previously
closed
Large balance sheet removes ‘size’ obstacle from the
sales process
Scale
Number of concurrent implementations
Geographic spread
Market segment spread – magazines, newspapers,
gaming
Margin
Reseller will be primary relationship with the customer
License and maintenance revenue direct with Ingenta
Subject matter expertise at sold at higher than historic
day rates.
Costs
Opportunity to reduce non-value added costs
Create more efficiently run projects
Free up higher revenue generating resources
29. Bowker and Barnes & Noble
Bowker:
Book information data provider to retailers,
publishers and search companies
ISBN agency for US
Services provider: PubNet (EDI), PubEasy
Barnes & Noble
Largest US based book retailer
College bookstore market
30. Shared objectives
Improve quality of book data
Extend amount and type of book metadata
Reduce cost of data management
Rapid increase in amount of data (number of
books published)
Global market expansion
Deepen communication between vendor
(Bowker), customer (B&N) and data owner
(Publishers)
31. Partnership: Data Enhancement Program
Established a joint communication program to
publishers
Document data requirements
Establish open communications
Site visits with Bowker staff
• More open and accessible process
Web interface and data access point
B&N ‘forced’ publishers to work with Bowker
Charged publishers for bad data
Included Bowker in B&N publisher status meetings
32. Partnership benefits
Bowker:
Expanded “Data Enhancement” model to Canada
(Indigo Books), Australia (Angus & Robertsons),
Follet Books (US) and Borders Books (US) + others
Enabled the establishment of standard processes
Significantly improved relationships with publishers
Barnes & Noble
Better, consistent book data
Improved processes
Lower costs