The Partnering Intelligence Fieldbook Tools and Techniques for Building Strong Alliances for Your Business By Stephen M. Dent and Sandra M. Naiman, 2002, Davies-Black Publishing 264 pages, softback Price: $39.95

Contents

Part One: Assessing Your Ability to Partner

   Chapter 1.  What Does It Take to Be a Smart Partner?
   Chapter 2.  Self-Disclosure and Feedback
   Chapter 3.  Win-Win Orientation
   Chapter 4.  Ability to Trust
   Chapter 5.  Future Orientation
   Chapter 6.  Comfort with Change
   Chapter 7.  Comfort with Interdependence
   
Part Two: Building Smart Partnerships
  The Partnership Continuum Model
   Chapter 8.  Assess Stage: Identifying What You Want from the Partnership
   Chapter 9.  Explore Stage: Identifying Potential Partners
   Chapter 10. Initiate Stage: Communicating and Organizing for Project Success
   Chapter 11. Commit Stage: Moving into Full Partnership

Partnering requires us to put aside our desires for immediate and instant self-gratification. Smart partners know that to be a great partner, you must understand and work hard to satisfy your partner's needs, and that in the process you will also get your needs met. It takes a huge leap of faith to believe that if you work hard to satisfy your partner's needs, he or she will work hard to satisfy yours. For this to happen, all the partners involved must have high Partnering Intelligence - the ability to create a partnering culture.  (Page xiii)

"The better I get, the better we get" sums up our approach to creating great partnerships. While many of us bemoan the problems we have with partners, we rarely look to ourselves as contributors to those problems. Yet, the only part of the relationship we can truly control is ourselves. Learning how to be a smart partner is the first step in building great partnerships.

Part One explains how to become a smart partner. You'll want to do this for two reasons. First, you'll be a better partner in the long run, not just in your professional life. Partnering skills are life skills: they work for you in your personal, family, and community lives. Second, all groups go through the Stages of Relationship Development. These predictable stages "Form, Storm, Norm, and Perform" are the steps in a cycle people use to determine trust and move from skepticism to performance. The Six Partnering Attributes help you and your partners move through this cycle more efficiently and successfully. (Page 1)

A partnership is where two or more people work together to accomplish a goal or task while building trust and a mutually beneficial relationship. In a successful partnership, a clearly defined and tangible outcome of the partnership is agreed upon; the process of accomplishing this outcome builds trust between the partners; and all partners are clear about the value they gain from - and bring to - the relationship. (Page 3)

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About the Authors

Stephen M. Dent is a leading pioneer in Partnering Intelligence theory, research, and application with more than 25 years of experience helping companies improve performance. As founding partner of Partnership Continuum, Inc., he works with companies as they build partnering capabilities and cultural infrastructures that support a partnering culture. In recognition of his groundbreaking work, Dent received the US WEST Chairman's Award and the President's Cup award for developing partnerships between the company and its union, the Communications Workers of America. His clients have included such organizations as Bank of America, GE Capital Services, NASA, and Wells Fargo Bank.

Sandra M. Naiman is a principal of Topline Associates, Inc., a Denver-based consulting firm specializing in business planning; selection, retention, and development; and sales process improvement; activity management; and partnering. She has worked with such clients as Sun Microsystems, J.P. Morgan, Kellogg Corporation, Lockheed Martin, Ford Motor Co., and ExxonMobil.