CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 14

"We have to take the long view for anything
we put in that's going to be difficult to
displace." That's why it's so important to take
the time up front to make sure it's the right
fit. "We look at not just the economics, but
their overall culture, vision, and direction and
make sure that lines up. We have to make
sure that where that strategic partner wants

Before you commit. Every CIO interviewed

to be ten years from now matches

for this article stressed the importance of

our direction."

trust in these high-stakes relationships. But
that doesn't mean blind trust. The contract

Best Practices for Successful
Partnerships

serves as a necessary starting point, by
ensuring that expectations are clear on both
sides. This includes defining the metrics

Experienced CIOs have developed

that matter to your business - service levels,

effective practices for making the most of

delivery terms, project ROI for strategic

their partner relationships. They've defined

projects - as well as penalties for missed

the criteria and traits that matter most (see

performance goals. David Guzman of H. D.

the sidebar "Winning Traits of Strategic

Smith values long-term relationships but

Partners"), and then they work to ensure that

knows they can be more expensive if the

their partners deliver.

contract isn't right. "Change is painful," he
says. "Instead of going into a bidding war
every three years, five years, or ten years, if a

david
guzman
CIO,
H.D Smith

partner is performing excellently, why would
we change? The only reason would be to get
a better price." So Guzman includes a "mark
to market" clause in his long-term contracts.
"If they can stay within a band of competitive
pricing, then we'll stay with them."

TO ExpECT TO hAVE A
gREAT pARTnER, YOu hAVE TO
BE A gREAT pARTnER. IT DOEs
TAkE TImE AnD EnERgY, BuT
IT's WORTh IT.

Monsanto's Swanson seeks to build
shared risk and shared outcomes with his
partners. This starts with an integrated
service capability and uptime reliability
- "not just SLAs, but ensuring our mean
required service during peak times, as well."
But it goes well beyond that. Swanson
used a simple example around employee
productivity to illustrate. "Say our vendor
notices that we have a lot of calls around
password resets. If they come to me and
say, 'We're doing really well at responding

14



CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8

Contents
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - Cover1
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - Cover2
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 1
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - Contents
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 3
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 4
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 5
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 6
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 7
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 8
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 9
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 10
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 11
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 12
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 13
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 14
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 15
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 16
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 17
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 18
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 19
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 20
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 21
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 22
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 23
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 24
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 25
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 26
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 27
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 28
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 29
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 30
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 31
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 32
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 33
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 34
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 35
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 36
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 37
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 38
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 39
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 40
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 41
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 42
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 43
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 44
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 45
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 46
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 47
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 48
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 49
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 50
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 51
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 52
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 53
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 54
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 55
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 56
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 57
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 58
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 59
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 60
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 61
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 62
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 63
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 64
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 65
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 66
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 67
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 68
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 69
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 70
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 71
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 72
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 73
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 74
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 75
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - Cover3
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - Cover4
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https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue5
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue4
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue3
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue2
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue1
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