#139 Jared Fuller: Lessons Learned from Partnering Pros

Jared Fuller, Host of the PartnerUp Podcast, joins Chip in this episode of Ecosystem Aces. As two hosts of different podcasts with the same mission of collecting and sharing wisdom from the brightest minds in partnering, Jared and Chip sit down to discuss the most important and memorable things they’ve learned across all their podcasts and conversations with partnering professionals and leaders. The two share stories about the dramatic changes taking place in partnerships and ecosystems, how it’s transformed what partnering means today, and how it all results in delivering greater value for customers.

Jared’s Favorite Stories

Jared shared a story from his conversation with Kris Jenkins. At the time, Kris was  Director of Strategic Technology Partners for Workfront and said “all of partnerships are about one thing: right person, right conversation, right person.”  Which means you need to keep looking for the right person in an organization and it’s usually not the first person you’re introduced to. Find one person, they introduce you to the next person, and they introduce you to the next. And over time you’ve built a strong network of relationships that can help you navigate organizations and get things done.

Another conversation Jared reflected on was with Bobby Napiltonia. Bobby talked about when he headed partnering for Salesforce under Marc Benioff.  At a company kickoff meeting, Marc listed three company priorities - Partner Ecosystem was one of those three priorities, which had a huge impact on the organization and ultimately on the trajectory of the company. What struck a chord with Jared is how critical “top-down” leadership is when it comes to driving strategic priorities like building partner ecosystems. As Jared says “if you’re going to have an ecosystem strategy, it better be on the annual kickoff slide.”

Companies will be undergoing major changes over the next five years. The development of ecosystems has expedited this business evolution. Ecosystems are a CEO priority, especially for companies that are forward-thinking that are really looking to make an impact and create innovative solutions and be a force in the market.

We were also excited to hear that Jared is launching a new project, PartnerHacker.com with his friend and colleague Isaac Morehouse. PartnerHacker is starting with the ambitious goal of a daily newsletter and then building from there as the go-to place for all things modern ecosystem partnering. We’re looking forward to it!

Chip’s Favorite Stories

One story Chip shared was his conversation with Lara Caimi, Chief Customer and Partner Officer at ServiceNow. Prior to her current role, Lara was Chief Strategy Officer and designed a business strategy for the company focusing on partnering and ecosystems. The CEO loved the concept so much he asked her to go run it.  Her combined role as the Chief Customer and Partner Officer makes so much sense, focusing both the company and its partners on their “North Star” - delivering customer value. Lara is passionate that success doesn't happen when a new service is implemented; rather, success comes when the customer is getting business outcomes they expect. 

Another story that stuck with Chip was from his conversation with Tom Roberts, Senior Vice President, Software Partner Solutionsat SAP. Tom runs the Solution Extensions (SolEx) and Endorsed Apps program at SAP. Tom and his team have turned what started as an idea into a billion-dollar business for SAP. (That’s billion with a “B”!) The team has done this by cultivating and growing partnerships with software and technology companies that have complementary capabilities aligning with SAP solutions to bring greater value to customers.

Chip and Jared also talked about how trust is at the core of partnerships. Chip shared that it’s almost become a game of “buzzword bingo” to guess when that word will come up in a podcast episode. In nearly every one of Chip’s 140+ episodes of EcosystemAces, the word trust comes up because it’s so critical in partnering. When everyone works for a single company, trust is often assumed. But when people from different companies are working together as partners, it’s easy to get misaligned with different company priorities - so building strong trust with the people in your partner’s company is required to work through tough situations that so often come up.

Wrapping Up

These are just a few of the many lessons learned by the duo through all the podcasts they have hosted. The conversation they have ultimately sheds light on the dramatic changes taking place in partnerships and ecosystems, how it’s transformed what partnering means today, and how that all means delivering greater value to customers. 

To learn more about the conversations Chip and Jared have had with more innovative partnering leaders, be sure to listen to the full Ecosystem Aces podcast. And make sure to check out Jared’s awesome podcast PartnerUp!  You can connect with Jared on LinkedIn as well.

Links & Resources

• Learn more about how WorkSpan helps customers accelerate their ecosystem flywheel through Co-selling, Co-innovating, Co-investing, and Co-marketing.
• Join the WorkSpan Community to engage with other partner ecosystem leaders on best practices, news, events, jobs, and other tips to advance your career in partnering.
• Find insightful articles on how to lead and get the most out of your partner ecosystem on the WorkSpan blog.
• Download the Best Practices Guide for Ecosystem Business Management
• Download the Ultimate Guide for Partner Incentives and Market Development Funds 
• To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or join the conversation about modern partnering, he can be reached on Twitter, LinkedIn, or send Chip an email at: chip@workspan.com