Partnering for Competition: Internal

Partnership

• Internal Partnering•Partnering with Suppliers and Customers•Partnering with Potential Competitors

What is competition?• rivalry for customers or a share of the marketplace• Rivalry in which every seller tries to get what other sellers are seeking

at the same time: sales, profit, and market share by offering the best practicable combination of price, quality, and service (businessdictionary.com)

Internal Customers/Partners• any group or entity within the organization• ensure the business has the capabilities to support its mission and

evolving growth initiative

2 critical facts when working with internal customers/partners1. dependent upon the unique knowledge, skills, and

expertise of other teams

2. business results are achieved only when cross-functional teams with different expertise work collaboratively with a united focus on strategic business goal

Most teams can identify the internal customers/partners most impacted by their work. However, few realize the impact of their daily work and how to create united collaboration with other teams focus on business

results.

COMMON BUSINESS PROBLEMS

Isolated Objectives are Pursued• Absent cross-functional collaboration with internal

customers/partners, teams chase isolated objectives, neglecting their shared goals --- the strategic business goals.

Poor Quality and Reworkisolated needs and objectives (not the needs and objectives of the business and external customer)

quality problems (inaccurate, incomplete, or wrong work) rework to fix the problems becoming the norm.

Problem…Solution Cycle• root cause of many problems involves the lack of common focus or

business alignment across the organization• instead of fixing the root cause, managers choose to fix the

“symptoms” same “symptoms” arise again and again and again

THE CONSEQUENCE• Poor quality• Inefficiencies• Deteriorating customer experience• Employee disengagement

TAKE ACTION: COLLABORATE WITH INTERNAL PARTNERS• managers partner with their internal customers by working together

with them as a single united team • focus on accomplishing business critical goals

COMMON OBJECTIVES

• Knowing the internal customer’s measure of success.• Asking well-crafted question…and listening.• Moving beyond defensiveness at what seems like criticism.• Understanding the internal customer/partner --- and the “customer’s

customer.”

• Understanding the problems internal customers face.• Seeing the impact of interdependencies. • Understanding the reason --- or “why” --- familiar work and outcomes

are important.• Negotiating a new and ongoing two-way partnership.

ACTIVITY/QUIZ• Case Study