Strategic-alliance

One of a few books I bought in an airport bookstore rather than on amazon, my first thought is that the amazon process really does help--this book is flashy enough to get one to buy it on the fly, but probably would not survive in open competition when alternatives are easily visible in an electronic bookstore.

The author notes that the book was written in 60 days. It shows, and the reader is the one that suffers. I have no doubt that the author, an attractive person by the photo, is a wonderful speaker with many insights to offer. The book, however, is not well laid-out and one has the feeling that 100 different briefings have been sorted into chapter files and dumped into the book. What couldn't be fit into the text was turned into sidebar or text figure.

The book includes a CD-ROM I will never use, as well as a URL for a web address I will never visit. I would rather they had put the money into better editing, more white space, and a much better structure for the book.

My bottom line: the book should not be ignored, but I would recommend that the executive interested in these concepts have a strong younger manager of promise read this as one of 3-4 other similar books, and distill all of them into a ten page memo.

1. Diagnosis of Your Company, Competitors, and Industry

2. The Up-Front Work in the Creation of FastAlliances

3. Define the Deliverables for FastAlliances

4. Managing Stakeholder Expectations

5. The Essential Characteristics for Business Development

6. Leveraging the Global E-Space

7. Employing the E-Mindshift System

Actually, there is a Step 8: The Deals -- Making, Managing, Adding Value, and Terminating Them. She explains the "nitty-gritty of creating and managing FastAlliances -- metrics, ongoing change mechanisms, and knowledge transfer; tools, tools, tools!" There is a separate chapter devoted to each Step, followed by a final chapter (Chapter 9) in which she discusses "Pitfalls and Opportunities -- Summing Up." This is an especially valuable chapter because Segil addresses a key issue: How to grow a company in e-space by using traditional alliances along with FastAlliances.

In the Afterword, Segil provides her e-mail address, inviting readers to visit her website and thereby gain access to a suite of more than 25 software processes that comprise the Larraine Segil Partner Relationship Management (PRM) System. She also provides her e-mail address with the expressed hope for a continuing relationship with her readers. In other words, Segil continues to seek out FastAlliances of her own which perhaps (just perhaps) may include one with you. I also direct your attention to two appendices: FastAlliance Toolkit and Companies Supplying Weapons and Countermeasures in the War for Web Customers.

I rate this book so highly because its material is substantial and logically organized, because it is very well-written, and because (as Segil herself would no doubt agree) the book enables, indeed encourages each reader to select a combination of concepts, strategies, and tactics which is most appropriate to her or his own organization. Yes, to some extent, this is a "How to" book but it is also a "Why to" book. The seven-step or, for some, eight-step process allows for all manner of modifications to accommodate (a) the unique needs and interests of each organization and (b) changes in that organization's circumstances (eg leadership, resources, or competitive environment). Of course, the value of this book will be determined by the nature and extent of needs to which its ideas are applied, and, the skill with which such application is made. Now more than ever before, organizations need all the friends they can make...and then keep. Segil suggests a practical and comprehensive process to achieve that objective. Now more than ever before, organizations must also be able to maintain the velocity necessary to compete successfully. Segil also addresses that need. It's nice to know where to locate her if and when a FastAlliance with her would be appropriate to you both.

A discomfortingly large chunk of the book is devoted to drilling the already established business dictum that collaboration, i.e., "a company's alignment of its business activities and processes with other organizations to create shared value and manage shared risk", is not merely a TACTICAL way of enhancing value or efficiency but is rapidly becoming a STRATEGIC necessity for the continual innovation needed to exploit fast-paced yet fleeting business opportunities.

Is it just me, or haven't we known this for what, 10 years now? This part of the book appeared to have been freeze-dried into place and was about as exciting to read as an ice tray.

Fortunately, the book soon picks up as the authors point out how collaboration, while critical for competitive relevance, is potentially risky and a pain in the rear to actually manage. Executives must evaluate the choice of partners, the form of the collaboration, the expected rewards, the possible risks, and the implications for personnel, operations and technology. In addition to explaining the underlying dynamics of collaboration, the book provides frameworks and diagnostics for the strategic and operational decision-making needed to effectively exploit the collaborative imperative.

And in this, it excels. What's more, it brims with some fascinating real-world case studies, arguably the most ambrosial of prose in any business book, and the authors cast a wide net too -- UBS, Cisco, U.S. Department of Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency Network, the Global Straight Through Processing Association (GSTPA) etc.

Overall, a mild to medium recommendation that may just be worth your time if you are involved in collaborative operational work. If you are really serious or care about the strategic perspectives of collaborations, you may also want to take a look at "Co-opetition" or more recently "The Support Economy" -- both trailblazers in their own right.

Business collaboration defined by the authors as " the alignment of business activities and processes with another business to create mutual benefit" is a growing tool used by many companies to quickly and cost effectively implement new business strategies.

Technology has and will continue to evolve to further enable collaboration, as noted by the many excellent examples sited in this book. Effective collaboration requires more than technology, it requires value creation from all collaborators, shared rewards, and managed risk.

This book does an excellent job of describing how organizations build processes and services to enable collaborative partnerships and alliances. After reading this book you will be better equipped to evaluate your company's readiness for collaboration and implement measures to improve your company's readiness in key areas.

This is a serious book on a difficult subject by someone who has been there. The author's experience and his ability to weave his experience into the narrative was very helpful in establishing his credibility and his "hands-on" as well as his theoretical knowledge of the subject.

I was especially impressed by his assertion, which I share, that nonprofit mergers rarely save any significant money, and should not be advocated or undertaken for economic reasons. There's an easy 4% or so in savings that can be realized from almost any merger; expecting more usually leads to disappointment. The reasons to merge may be "positive:" enhancing efficiency, effectiveness, community image, fundraising ability, etc.; or the reasons may be "negative:" Mr. McCormick has a good explanation of how factors unrelated to mission can lead to a spiral from liability concerns to viability concerns to survivability concerns.

The merger process is detailed, with cogent explanations of the rationale for each step. There are serious legal, financial, and organizational/administrative issues to be faced all along the way, and tips on selecting and working with competent and experienced counsel are included, along with case studies, tables, forms, and samples.

His caution about using counsel specifically trained in nonprofit mergers is well-take, Many specialists in working with for-profit mergers don't appreciate the importance of the emotional issues involved in mergers, and how a single volunteer with (seemingly) no "power" can scuttle the entire process. Nonprofit mergers must be a far more open process than their for-profit counterparts' could ever be.

The book is well-sourced and well-researched, though the attributions sometimes impede the flow of the narrative. Nevertheless, it's a good "hands-on" sourcebook for serious executives and board members contemplating nonprofit mergers.

The word "mergers" is in the title but the word "partnerships" is in the subtitle and I think much of this book's substantial value is found in what McCormick has to say about partnerships or, if you prefer, strategic alliances. Great benefit can also be derived from the process of determining whether or not to merge with a given candidate. Due diligence may perhaps reveal more information about your own organization than it does about a given candidate. McCormick organizes his material within nine chapters:

Deciding to Merge

Selecting a Merger Partner

Laying the Groundwork with Staff and Volunteers

Negotiating and Determining Structure

Dissolution vs. Merger

Technical and Legal Aspects

Working with Consultants and Attorneys

Transition to Merge

Evaluation and Stewardship

After his Conclusion, McCormick provides 12 appendices which include relevant case histories, informative sample documents, and practical checklists. Who will derive the greatest benefit from this book? Obviously, governing board members as well as senior-level executives in an NPO which is an active merger candidate, either to acquire or be acquired. I also highly recommend this book to governing board members and senior-level executives of all other NPOs which could soon become involved (voluntarily or involuntarily) in merger negotiations or at least in preliminary discussions.

At this point, I presume to offer a suggestion to decision-makers in any NPO: Schedule a 2-3 day off-site workshop and require all participants to read this book in advance. Use its "Table of Contents" for the agenda. The group's objective is to collaborate on a Game Plan (if an active merger candidate) or a Contingency Plan ("just in case"). Here is how McCormick concludes: "There is an old saying that 'ships are safe in port, but that is not why they are built.' Merger is a time for leadership to set sail and captain the organization to a new land. A land of opportunity is made available by the increased capacity of merger with a dynamic partner." To which I add, Bon Chance! When appropriate, Bon Voyage!

I was most disappointed in the editing (Crisp Publications). The short book abounds in incomplete sentences and even blatant redundancies.

I left my copy on a plane, and, sorry to say, I don't miss it.

The core of the story is how a key IBM technology, the Hollerith-based card tabulating machines, became available for the Nazi war and Holocaust efforts. Although the details are murky (and may remain so), it is fairly clear that the use of this technology was sustained during the war years in part by shipments of customized (for each end user) tabulating cards from IBM in neutral countries for everything from blitzkriegs to slave camp scheduling to transportation to the death camps. There was not enough paper capacity to make the cards in Europe (that the Nazi and IBM records show were used), and there is no evidence that Nazis created substitutes for these essential supplies.

As Mr. Black warns, "This book will be profoundly uncomfortable to read." I agree. My sleep will not be the same for some time after experiencing this powerful story.

Mr. Black makes an even stronger statement. "So if you intend to skim, or rely on selected sections, do not read the book at all." I took him at his word, and did not even read the book quickly. I also arranged to read it in several sittings, so I could think about what I had read in between. I recommend that you do the same.

The reason for my recommendation is that your thinking will change very fundamentally through reading the book. Having read dozens of books by fine historians about the Nazi period, and knowing a great deal about the history of data processing, I assumed that there would be little new to the story here. But the title intrigued me. By the fourth time I saw the book, I could no longer resist it.

What I found inside the book surprised, shocked, and amazed me.

First, many authors claim that it was not clear in the United States that Jews were losing their lives in Europe during the Nazi years until just before the end of the war. This book documents many articles that appeared in the New York Times that certainly seemed to be saying that this systematic killing was going on from very near the time when it began. Anyone who ignored these reports just didn't want to know.

Second, the book makes many connections between Thomas Watson, Sr. and Nazi Germany. Many things surprised me about this. One, he was there once or twice a year until just before World War II began. The horrible human abuses were probably observed first hand by him then. Two, he had friends who were victimized by the Nazis. Three, he accepted a very prestigious medal from Hitler in 1937 (which he returned in June 1940). Four, he spoke in favor of making U.S. policy pro-German until just before the United States entered World War II. Five, it appeared that he had a lot more concern about IBM's profits and machines in Europe than about any people there.

Third, although I was very familiar with the improvements in industrial and transportation effectiveness in Germany during the Nazi years, I did not realize that IBM's design of Hollerith machines for card tabulation was a breakthrough technology that enabled this progress.

Fourth, I had always been amazed that the Nazis had such detailed records of the geneologies of European Jews. What I did not realize was that much of this information was provided by Jewish citizens in government censuses, and was quickly processed into records used by oppressors on Hollerith machines leased from IBM or its subsidiaries.

In France, where the use of these machines was subverted by the Resistance, the percentage rate of Jewish deaths was one-third of what occurred in Holland where this technology was well applied. It is hard to avoid the feeling that millions of people died because these machines were available and kept supplied with parts and punch cards for the Nazis.

One cannot help but draw the comparison between this historical example and the companies and countries (including, apparently, the United States) that have more recently allowed critical nuclear, rocket, and satellite technology to become available to repressive regimes. It seems that by not asking questions about IBM and the Holocaust, we may be continuing to make many of the same mistakes today.

I salute the incredible imagination and back-breaking effort that went into assembling this astonishing set of documents and perspectives. I hope that many people will read the book, that scholars will look for more information to expand our understanding, and that the fundamental questions raised by this book will be debated wherever free people live.

Remember: Your freedom is only as good as that of the least free person, who is most vulnerable.

"Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee."

Black's book is also a fascinating look into corporate politics. One wonders how much IBM's New York office knew of its German affiliate's activities. Without gaining access to IBM's archives, Black shows that IBM was aware and choose not to know, concerning itself only with the profits earned by Dehomag, its German affiliate, throughout Nazi-occupied Europe.

Yet another overview book that talks about the subject without giving you the meat.

When compared to other strategic alliance books (e.g., De La Sierra's "Managing Global Alliances", Hamel's and Doz' "Alliance Advantage", and Yoshino's "Strategic Alliances"), Smart Alliances gets pasted the (sometime obvious) generalities and assertions, as well as just observations found in these books. Smart Alliances provides the details for formulating and selecting the right partner(s), and getting to the execution of an alliance in the strategic context.

In 1980 less than 2% of revenues driven by the top 1,000 US firms came from alliances where as today (1997) more than 21 % of revenues are alliance driven. Through the strategic sharing of resources and risk, companies who develop successful alliances are clearly producing higher returns on earnings than those who are not.