READ ON PHILHSC.COM | READ TIME: 4 MINUTES | 20 AUGUST, 2025

How has the week started for you?

Welcome to Partnership Wednesday #108 featuring ideas you can use to create partnerships faster, with less guesswork, and confidently close 6-figure deals.

Know someone who could use this edition? Share it with them here.

Have a burning question? Just reply to this email!

A LESSON TO BUILD ON

Starbucks wanted to move beyond cafés in the 1990s. Bottled coffee was the opportunity but they lacked global distribution muscle. Instead of going it alone, Starbucks’ then CEO Howard Schultz partnered with PepsiCo. Starbucks brought brand and product. Pepsi brought logistics and retail reach. Together they launched bottled Frappuccino, which became a billion-dollar category.

Leadership lesson: Growth isn’t about owning every link in the chain. It’s about knowing where you’re strong, and where a partner can make you stronger. Schultz admitted what Starbucks couldn’t do alone. That humility turned into speed, scale, and trust.

Because sometimes the fastest way to grow is to give part of it away.

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AN ANSWER TO HELP YOU MOVE FASTER

We need to do more to sure up our supply chain. We’re not treating them like partners. How do I change that? I was asked this question from the crowd this week. Here’s my answer:

Sadly, most supplier deals aren’t designed to perform. They’re designed to survive.
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Little scenario planning. No growth triggers. Few risk buffers.
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Just a purchase order system and hope. That’s a liability.
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Here’s a three-part decision-making playbook that can help your team move from a vendor to partner approach (and reap the benefits that come with that change)
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Start by mapping the partnership across three trajectories:
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​1. Baseline Case​
• “What can we rely on—if nothing breaks?”
• On-time delivery at ≥ 90%
• Fixed pricing and MOQs
• Manual reporting, no visibility
• No innovation or real ESG contribution
• Governance: quarterly check-ins
• Standard terms, minimal risk cover
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​2. Growth Case​
• “What’s possible with alignment and focus?”
• Product expansion + co-funded upgrades
• Volume-based pricing
• Real-time demand planning
• Shared ESG milestones
• Monthly cadences and co-training
• Agility in lead times and capacity
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​3. Strategic Case​
• “If this works, how do we win together?”
• Shared IP or new market entry
• Profit-linked or investment-based pricing
• Embedded tech and integrated systems
• Redundancy built in
• Weekly strategic syncs
• Joint capital deployment or innovation cycles
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Now, create a spreadsheet with three columns.

Column A - Supplier Name

Column B - Allocate each supplier with Baseline, Growth or Strategic based on today’s circumstances.

Column C - Allocate each supplier a target state for 12 months time (Baseline, Growth or Strategic)

Here’s the point:

If you’re not scenario planning your critical supplier relationships, you’re not leading them.
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And if your team can’t articulate these three paths, you’re flying blind.
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Design for upside and build in resilience because suppliers might be your greatest untapped growth lever.

​Here’s an infographic that might help you navigate this topic further.​

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THIS WEEK'S MOMENT (Insight for your commute)

What if your biggest competitor could be your greatest ally?

In this 7-minute episode:

• Learn how to spot the exact moment when partnering with a competitor makes more sense than outcompeting them
• Discover frameworks for building limited-scope alliances that protect your core while expanding your reach
• Gain a practical six-step playbook for structuring coopetition, tailored for small to mid-sized businesses

Get every episode of the Partnership Playbook on your next commute or workout. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Youtube!

KNOW PEOPLE WHO FEEL STUCK?

Share this issue via text, social media, or email by copying and pasting this link:

​https://philhsc.com/partnership/20-august-2025​

See you next Wednesday,

Phil Hayes-St Clair, Business Partnerships Expert & Coach

​Find me on LinkedIn or Book a 1:1 Call​

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