Trusted Partners

Book excerpt: Trust is the glue that holds organizations together. More powerful than contracts or authority, trust enables partner companies -- or groups within a company -- to achieve results that exceed the sum of the parts. Without trust, alliances fail. In Trusted Partners, internationally recognized alliance expert Jordan Lewis draws on four decades of advising and managing alliances to show -- for the first time -- how to build and sustain trust between and within organizations. A comprehensive and multifaceted analysis of trust, Trusted Partners shows how to develop, manage, measure, improve, or repair this important dimension of every business relationship. "Trust must be constructed, one step at a time," Lewis maintains. He breaks significant new ground by describing each of these steps -- including how to assemble the elusive interpersonal, leadership, political, organizational, structural, and governance components of trust. Clear in its explanation of what trust entails, Trusted Partners uses dozens of stories and case examples, among them alliances between Canon and Hewlett-Packard, Ford and ABB, and Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart, all of which achieved market-beating results. Lewis begins by establishing eight conditions for trust and shows how to determine if trust is possible. He then details: * How to build, manage, and repair trust * How to trust difficult customers * How to sell alliances to customers * How to trust a rival * How to build trust between internal groups * How to create a culture of trust * How to build trust in mergers and acquisitions Concluding Trusted Partners is a section entitled "Tools for Trust." This practical, easy-to-use reference guide covers in depth all the key aspects of trust -- from measuring trust and using alliance ethics to sharing know-how and benefits, working with attorneys, and choosing the best alliance structure. At a time when alliances have become a preferred competitive strategy for most companies, and with most alliances ending as failures, management at all levels cannot afford to ignore this powerful book.