Build
Partners are about to become part of your growth model.
Where can partners create growth worth investing in?
INDEPENDENT ADVISORY · PARTNER BUSINESS
Your partners
aren’t the problem.
Your partner
business is.
Understand the partner business you have.Design the one your strategy needs.
For technology leaders building, scaling or rethinking their partner business.
Find your starting pointYOUR NEXT MOVE
What comes next for
your partner business?
Start with the situation.
We work out the right approach together.
Scale
More partners. More activity. Less clarity on what pays off.
Where should the next euro and the next hour go?
Reset
The business has scale - but you would not design it this way today.
What should you keep, change - or stop funding?
THE REALITY CHECK
Most partner businesses look better than they work.
On paper, it works. In practice, the gaps become visible.
The programme exists. The pipeline is reported. The partners are classified. Yet too much depends on people filling the gaps. Building from the start? These are the gaps your model needs to prevent.
Five signs to look beneath the surface.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
You have
partner tiers.
But they rank recognition, not contribution.
Gold, silver and platinum describe a partner’s status. They do not tell you which motion can work - or where the next investment belongs.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
You have
strategic partners.
But the label carries more weight than the relationship.
No shared opportunity. No distinctive contribution. No reason for the next investment.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
You report
partner revenue.
But nobody knows who created it - or what it really cost.
Revenue is visible. The access, influence, delivery effort and rescue work behind it are not.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
You expect partners
to drive growth.
But take back control whenever the deal becomes important.
Partners are asked to lead - until Sales, Delivery or leadership needs certainty.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
You have
a partner programme.
But the real business happens around it.
Status is rewarded. Contribution, ownership and the next move remain informal.
1 / 5
THE SURFACE IS NOT THE SYSTEM.
The numbers may be green. The business can still be red.
A DIFFERENT STARTING POINT
The missing piece
isn’t another
partner programme.
“A partner programme only works when both sides know what they contribute - and commit to doing their part.”
INDIRECT BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Make the business
beneath it visible.
Indirect Business Architecture starts with what the business must contribute to company growth - then connects the motions, partner portfolio, internal teaming, capabilities and investment decisions required to make it happen.
Contribution +
What does this partner actually contribute?Look beyond status and revenue to the access, expertise or delivery capability the partner brings.
Business motions +
How will you win business together?Agree whether the partner introduces, co-sells or delivers - and what each side must contribute.
Economics +
Is the business worth the effort?Weigh the opportunity against the time, investment and risk carried by both sides.
Ownership +
Who is actually doing what?Name the owner of the next move and make sure they have the authority and support to act.
Alignment +
Is your organisation ready to deliver its side?Check whether Sales, Marketing, Delivery and leadership can back the commitments made to partners.
HOW WE WORK TOGETHER
What does your partner
business need now?
Three ways to work together.
The right scope starts with your situation.
See it.
Understand what
needs to change.
THE OUTCOME
A diagnosis and
a decision brief.
Improve it.
Turn an agreed priority
into progress.
THE OUTCOME
A focused plan, clear owners
and regular reviews.
Design it.
Build the model
your strategy needs.
THE OUTCOME
A partner-business blueprint
and a roadmap.
Not sure which approach fits?
Start with a conversation
YOUR COUNTERPART
I've been on
your side of the table.
I come from a technical background. A good solution used to be my starting point. Building partner businesses taught me to ask something else: why would a partner invest their people, time and reputation in it?
That question still guides my work. I bring my experience to the table, you bring yours. Together, we make the decision visible - and work out what it will take from your organisation.
Global partner management at EASY SOFTWARE. Building the partner business at Automation Hero. Working with GSIs, regional specialists and boutique partners at Blue Prism.
FROM PEOPLE I HAVE WORKED WITH
Trust built in the work.
BOOKS & THINKING
The thinking
behind the work.
Three perspectives on the same question:
what makes partner business really work?
RECOGNITION / BUSINESS FABLE
The Watermelon Manager
When healthy numbers conceal a business held together by personal rescue work.
Available soon
ARCHITECTURE / MANAGEMENT
Beyond the Watermelon
How leaders make contribution, commitments and the next investment visible enough to decide.
Explore the book
Work in progress
PRACTICE / PARTNER MANAGEMENT
Escape the Watermelon
The daily work of creating commitment and moving business forward without formal authority.
Explore the book
BUILD · SCALE · INVEST · RESET
Bring me
the decision.
You don’t need a finished brief.
Start with the decision in front of you -
and what makes it difficult.
A conversation first.
A scope if it makes sense.