Our guest blogger, Ken Powell, is the Chief Commercial Officer at EverView.
Spotify & Starbucks. Apple & Mastercard. Taco Bell & Doritos. What‘s the common theme among these business mash-ups, you ask? Besides the obvious—leaders of industry, titans of transformation—these business successes are all a result of partnerships. Strategic minds coming together to revolutionize their respective industries.
The role partnerships play in business is by no means a new or radical concept. In fact, partnerships have played a role in the formation of some of today’s most successful business ventures (see above). But, with agility and adaptation at the forefront of strategy, the so-called mechanisms of great partnerships have shifted.
Gone are the days of the tried and true. In today’s world, if you aren’t innovating, you aren’t succeeding. And a good partner will be right there with you, pushing you to evolve into the “what’s next?” of it all—combining the roles of advisor and advocate.
Advisor: One who understands the importance of evolution and encourages you to reach new heights, offering a unique and valuable perspective to create opportunities for growth. Staying one step ahead of current trends and happenings both within your industry and in the business world at large.
Advocate: One who understands your specific needs—from the challenges facing your industry to the available resources behind each project. Managing risk and balancing interests to ensure a positive outcome.
Both roles offering distinctive characteristics that, when combined, create an ideal partner. At EverView, we’ve mastered the delicate balance of acting as both your advisor and advocate, redefining what it means to be a partner. So, what does all of this look like in practical application? A little something like this:
As an advisor, we would recommend moving toward a digital-first communications system for your property management company. But realizing that your office may not be equipped to manage that change quickly, we’d advocate starting with an eAdoption program that moves the ball forward.
Because a partner that lands squarely in the role of advisor risks running you full throttle into opportunities that may not be best suited for your brand, potentially wasting time and resources. And conversely, a partner only fulfilling the role of advocate, leaves you open to the dreaded “laggard” label, so worried with risk that they ignore the possible reward.
Much like peanut butter and jelly, when it comes to partnerships, the roles of advocate and advisor are simply better together. Trust us, we wrote the book on partnerships.