Partnering is not Enough – MWBEs Have to Partner Strategically for Results
Innovation has been the name of the game in the minority business community for some time. Corporations and government agencies say time and time again that they only want to do business with suppliers that can bring value and new innovations to the table. In seeking to meet that mandate, minority and women-owned enterprises (MWBEs) have been increasingly turning to partnerships as a means to create new innovation potential.
However, simply taking on a partner is no guarantee the desired levels of innovation will follow. MWBEs need to selectively develop strategic alliances that help them improve their value-add. There are several things that must be included in any partnership arrangement, including choosing and thinking carefully about the role of alliances in innovation, bringing the right tools to the table, accepting help, and protecting successful innovation. Though more complex than simply teaming up with the nearest warm business, this more thoughtful approach can make alliances a rewarding venture.
The first step in the creating alliances that work as innovation engines is settling the role of an alliance in the innovation process. Declaring a partnership is not the same as building a strategic new innovation venture. What is really expected of each side, and what can each side bring to the table?
A large part of building an alliance capability internally is ensuring there is something to offer. What kind of leadership or existing innovation role can your business offer another? Do you have a product or process that would help another firm? What do you think is the win-win of you reaching out to someone else in the first place? How open are you willing to be about your internal processes in the quest for innovation?
The role of alliances in producing the ground-breaking innovation contractors want can’t be a one-sided thing or the cure for an unhealthy business. Little innovation is going to come from a dysfunctional or unprofessional environment, but two healthy firms with a shared goal can inspire both firms and their talent to take things to new levels. The key is to establish goals and roles for each side before entering into an agreement. With direction and administrative elements out of the way, the brain power behind it all has room to showcase innovative ideas.
Bringing the Right Tools to the Table
With basic roles established, MWBEs have to think about what they do to bring the right tools to the table. In alliance-type situations, this means the right talent, the right metrics, and the right resources.
In terms of the talent, within every organization there are those who simply fear sharing ideas with others. These are not the leaders needed for an alliance. You have to combine talent interested in innovation and a willingness to share concepts within the goals of the innovation framework to successfully create new products and services. This may mean allocating top talent to the project, or it may mean bringing technical experts to the table accompanied by a communicative translator to help drive the brainstorming process.
Of course, all of this brainpower sharing needs to be guided by the right metrics. What are you trying to achieve? Alliances thrive on goals and clearly defined outcomes. These metrics help keep the alliance on track and producing real results, preventing the partnership from turning into a drain on the organization. At any point in time, both sides should be able to point to the metrics to clearly say whether or not the alliance is working and where the team is on their goals.
Finally, MWBEs need to bring the right resources to the table. The exact resources needed may vary project to project, but by defining goals and outcomes, finding needed supplies, funds, and hours can happen. Indicating a need for a resource is the first step in getting it, and tying that resource use to a forward-moving outcome makes it easier to reallocate resources to alliance ventures.
Companies That Help Suppliers Innovate
MWBEs don’t need to build alliances in isolation – many corporate supplier mentorship programs exist to help minority suppliers build alliances and grow alliance capacity. Tapping into these programs can move the bar and open doors for both new alliances and new contracts. Examples of working mentorship programs with this aim include the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (Port Authority), Kraft, and Northrop Grumman.
Suppliers with the Port Authority mentorship program get help by gaining business skills, getting assistance with bonding efforts, and having the space to network with each other. The Port Authority program helps participating firms have more professionalism and stronger business cases to share through strategic training. They help ideas grow by removing barriers for firms to go directly to bids, and they create opportunities for firms to meet each other in open forums to facilitate the discovery of alliance opportunities.
At Kraft, the company helps suppliers promote innovation by sponsoring initiatives and being transparent about the desired outcomes. Kraft isn’t seeking “innovation” as a nebulous term. They have specific goals for suppliers, helping focus the creative energy of supplier alliances. The firm has also sponsored an innovation challenge for suppliers, encouraging partnerships and giving extra incentive for firms to team up to win prized contracts.
In the defense and technology space, Northrop Grumman helps suppliers build alliances with its mentor-protégé program. This program helps firms gain specific pieces of intellectual property to advance growth and also helps firms pursue their innovation goals in a targeted way. As a result, suppliers are growing capacity and finding new alliance partners throughout the industry.
Protecting Successes
Naturally, in all this innovation space, there is some fear that one side or another will walk away with the prize. MWBEs have to consider how they will protect their own intellectual property as well as shared innovation ideas, and the best way to do that is to plan for success and sharing issues from the start.
Intellectual property has its own legal protections in the form of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. Addressing respect for those concepts in the initial alliance discussions can go a long way toward allaying fear and preventing misunderstanding. Planning for the management of shared innovations from the start may seem premature, but having the guidelines in place makes it clear for all parties what is necessary to act in good faith, and what penalties may exist for misunderstandings. This guidance can also help define the paths through which both sides can profit from new innovations.
Innovation is increasingly the name of the game for minority businesses that want to get ahead. Using partnerships and alliances to get the ground-breaking innovation clients demand is possible, if MWBEs take the time to think through the role of the alliance in driving innovation, determine the right tools needed, accept help from mentoring organizations, and plan to protect their discoveries. By planning for successful alliances, MWBE suppliers can turn their unique innovations into long-term partnerships and game changing ventures.
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