Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

This BBC headline tweaked my sense of whimsy: “Snake ‘befriends’ snack hamster.” (Is it me or does that hamster look a tad nervous?)

This also tweaked my synapses re strategic alliances. In any negotiation, there are differences in perspective, size and agendas. And, often strategic alliances are neither strategic nor an alliance. The term sounds good (and will drive your attorneys crazy) - but when you start looking at the contract details, there’s almost invariably a snake and a hamster. This happens all the time when a small business is talking with a big one. Even when the relationship starts out with friendship and warm feelings, the snake may decide the hamster looks mighty tasty one of these days.

So, in any alliance discussion - think: are you the snake or hamster? You can’t really do much about your place on the food chain, but you can be both realistic and prepared. (And, if you’re the snake, think about going to some ethics seminars.)

Tags:strategic alliances, business development, entrepreneur, entrepreneur sanity check