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Want More Effective Partnerships? Find Out What ‘They’ Aren’t Teaching

partnership handshake

Leading a channel program isn’t always easy. There’s a lot to consider — from personality fits and motivation levels to ethics approaches and dedication to communication. Vince Menzione knows all of this. Menzione has worked in technology and the channel for 30 years. He’s pretty much seen it all. He knows what works — and what doesn’t. As a result, he now runs consulting firm Ultimate Partnerships LLC.

The past year, especially, has thrown a lot of curve balls at channel partners and their vendors. As COVID-19 struck — mostly unexpectedly — companies and their trusted advisers scrambled to respond. In many cases, confusion reigned before the dust settled. Now that the chaos has subsided, now is the time, Menzione says, to explore leadership lessons and principles that will set partnerships on a successful path. His session, “Getting Partnerships Right: What They Don’t Teach,” will address just that. The 35-minute event, part of the MSP Summit Conference, collocated with the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 2, at 2:20 p.m.

Any senior channel leader seeking to achieve or surpass results should plan to join. Menzione will talk about the big reasons why partnerships fail, and he’ll provide a framework to fix those problems. Key takeaways include the following:

  • How culture, commitment and communications (the 3 Cs) impact partnerships.
  • Why partnerships fail.
  • Why ecosystems matter.
  • The pillars of successful partnerships.
  • What leaders need to do differently at this time of transformation.

In this Q&A, Channel Futures asked Menzione to give a little more insight into what he will discuss live at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo in Las Vegas.

Channel Partners: The title of your session is “What they Dont Teach.” Can you explain how you landed on that title and why should people attend?

Vince Menzione: I was a general manager at Microsoft for nine years and ran a $4.6 billion channel. When I left, I knew that partners often struggled working with the tech giant. I started my podcast and business to help them understand what “they” (as in Microsoft, Amazon and Google) don’t teach about effectively co selling and building a business with them. If you are a technology organization looking to achieve high performance, then you won’t want to miss this session.

Ultimate Partnerships' Vince Menzione

CP: I understand you have identified a set of principles or pillars of successful partnerships, can you tell us more?

VM: I’ve sat on both sides of the table — both as a general manager at Microsoft and as the vice president of alliances for a $1 billion publicly traded partner. I am convinced that there are at least eight core principles of high performance that separate the pack. In this session I will share the operating principles of the best in the business to help you get partnerships right, optimize for success and deliver results.CP: What are some of the key reasons partnerships fail?

VM: There are several potential failure points, but I have found that they fall into three areas — what I refer to as the 3 Cs: culture, commitment and communication. I plan to cover these in-depth during the session.

Listen to Vince Menzione discuss partnerships on the Channel Futures podcast, Coffee with Craig and James.


CP: A lot has happened in the last 18 months and you have said that ecosystems matter now more than ever. What do you mean by that?

VM: We have seen rapid transformation of our world. IDC says we have seen seven years of digital transformation in one year! Businesses will be unrecognizable in several years and partnerships will be the key accelerator to success.

CP: What do leaders need to do differently at this time of transformation?

VM: We have seen a void in leadership. I hope to share my experiences working with many of the best in the business with attendees.

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