Customer Reviews

Navigating the Partnership Maze: Creating Alliances That Work

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

If you are just figuring out the world of business and partnerships, this book is for you. I've been in it for over twenty years, and much of this is simply put, brainless. One could argue that what Ms. Gerdes has done is nothing more than take obvious patterns and call them trends. Or common processes and call them models. Her tools sets are about the most obvious things in the world, but maybe someone, somewhere out there needs partnerships reduced to the most basic level. Not everyone can afford to hire McKinsey Consulting, which is a good thing for Ms. Gerdes, since she has used the Suze Orman approach to writing. Advanced partner managers beware, you will hate this book. Everyone else who likes Oprah and Suze Orman will probably love it.

I too am an MBA and work in corporate marketing as a director of partnerships for a Fortune 2000 company. I've actually had the experiences Ms. Gerdes describes of leaving tens of messages, getting the run around and being told I don't have the right business case for a partnership. I've also used some of the tips she describes, and can say they work. Anyone who hasn't had these experiences and knocks the book obviously hasn't had to create an actual partnership. Anyone who has been in the trenches like Ms. Gerdes knows that this is nothing more than reality. She says "partnerships aren't sexy" and she's right. They are plain old hard work, and anyone who says anything different is naive. This book is the only one on the market with specific how-to's. Forget academic books on philosophy. Get real substance without the hype from this book. A must read and a must recommend to anyone creating REAL alliances

Useless - this was just a long commercial for the author's services. Worse yet, I paid for it. Very little concrete information. Very disapp

This book came out at just the right time for me. Recently laid off, I've had to look at other creative ways to earn a living using my experience in the retail products market. This book has the best examples of people who also started in one career and are now in something entirely different. I'd never heard of a facilities partnership (to get rent for free), or that a land partnership with municipal governments was possible (to share (to get land for free or on good terms) or even considered partnering with local coffee shops for a marketing partnership (to get free branding and distribution). Each of these examples are carried throughout the book so I could follow the process. Most importantly for me, none of the individuals creating the partnership had any previous experience. That alone gave me the confidence I need to start my own venture,and have success with something as intimidating sounding as a partnership.

I thought the book was perfect at delivering a message in an easy to understand way, but still including the detail and substance to make it valuable. A great way to derive knowledge from someone who has been through the many partnership scenarios before, preparing you for the road ahead.

A first class, objective and fresh look at simplifying strategic alliances. Ms. Gerdes has brought it all together in easily understandable terms with outstanding examples that can be adapted to any business in any industry. Superbly written and based on first-hand experience, this will clearly become "the authoritative piece" on creating successful partnerships.

Alliance development can be accomplished seat of the pants in a strong economy, but when the difficult times hit, they will probably fall apart. This is a book that can help anyone looking to forge strong alliances today and manage them through the storm of internal and external factors that might threaten your hard work. Sarah has the practical experience and techniques to bring new ideas to a veteran while clarifying what to do next for the novice. The case stories are relevant to the context, crossing all types of partnerships and applicable for any type of business. An important read for anyone considering construction or development of strategic alliances.

I don't know who the brain surgeons are that posted the last 2 reviews, but they are clearly people who haven't read fortune magazine, possibly live under a rock, or have a personal beef with Ms. Gerdes; regardless they clearly can't spell or write in comprehensible grammer, thus anyone basing an opinion upon these reviews would be foolish.

Ms. Gerdes' references to Uniglobe, Network Appliance, and a whole host of companies are very real. For the brain dead that wrote the last two reviews lacking any substance, perhaps you should spend the money to purchase periodicals that highlight NetApp as one of the best places to work - it is a real company. Further, the last time I checked people like Gary Charlwood (Uniglobe) and Dan Warmenhoven (NetApp) are real, very successful CEOs that clearly contributed to the book.

For anyone else that questions the value of this book, do as I did, go to a book story (local store, etc.) and read the 1st chapter or 2 for free OR read any of the excerps that have been published online. You'll find that Ms. Gerdes has done more with this one book to outline the realities behind alliances and how to be successful therein than anyone else in the industry. Our company owns several copies now and it is manadatory reading.

It is a shame that people like the last 2 provide so little depth in their analysis of the book, yet have such scathing things to say. Experience tells any savvy business professional that the world is full of people that complain, yet have no answers or value to add of their own. Hopefully review boards like this one will police themselves and discourage people that add no value from contributing garbage.

As a retired CEO and now consultant to start ups, I purchased this book after hearing Sarah speak at an entreprenuer forum. It doesn't dissappoint. It's the only book I've read the includes a translation dictionary of what a company says to stall you based on the stage of discussion. I also liked the Agreement Matrix, defining all the types of agreements, when they are used, the pros, cons, and dependencies. I'm referring my clients to it daily.

Many books claim to have models that work but few deliver the results that this book did by the second chapter. I've tried and failed to get in to pitch the big players on a partnership only to get stuck in the depths of the wrong department and incorrect decision maker. Sarah explicitly details short-cuts and back doors into companies like Microsoft, IBM-even American Express. Things only insiders or life long veterans would know. After reading just a few pointers, I got the right person on the line in four days as opposed to the last time which took me six months! The book has paid for itself many many times over already.