Why Self-Awareness Unlocks The Best Business Partnerships

Forbes

28-05-2025

The best business partnerships start with self-awareness.
Strategic business partnerships empower companies to unlock greater value than they could alone. Yet, forming a successful alliance can be difficult – it requires alignment on goals, values, and vision. Whether uniting companies for a chapter or a long journey, here's why having self-awareness creates the best business partnerships.
Before embarking on a potential business partnership, it is important to recognize and clarify your organization's key strengths and long-term goals. A successful partnership develops a shared vision. This can only occur if both parties clearly delineate their skills and goals of their business. Sal Frisella, CEO of 1st Phorm, shared to me via email on his company's recent partnership with Anheuser-Busch for Phorm Energy, 'We need to believe in each other and have a common drive to build something that really matters. It's important that both sides bring their own strengths, but what really makes it work is a shared vision.'
Home in and streamline your expertise. Companies that dabble in too many products or services may lose their long-term vision and value proposition. Subject matter expertise requires diligent focus and precise cultivation of specific skills. Being a strong player in your market will naturally attract equally successful potential collaborators.
Being self-aware means not only identifying the strengths of your organization, but also being able to pinpoint company weaknesses. 'Weaknesses' should be viewed as a future area to develop or a cognizant choice to not allocate resources for a specific domain. Successful organizations are transparent. They understand that naming development areas opens up opportunities to collaborate with a partner that fills the gaps.
Revealing your company's weaknesses sets the stage for a continued open and collaborative dialogue. Vulnerability generates reciprocal honesty and trust – the foundation of a successful partnership. Globally, trust is at an all-time low; 68% of people believe business leaders purposefully mislead people, an increase of 12 percentage points since 2021, according to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer Global Report. It's important to lead with authenticity in potential partnership conversations.
A business partnership is a merging of two ecosystems. Each company has their own unique culture, represented in communication styles and how they work. Frisella elaborates on this, recognizing 'Any real partnership is going to come with challenges, especially when you're building something from the ground up. You've got different teams, different cultures, and different ways of doing things. The key is being flexible without ever compromising who you are.' Embrace flexibility and choice while maintaining the big picture view.
Being open to new ideas and approaches will help smooth the transition of multiple teams joining together. Frisella noted that he and Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth connected on a personal level, stemming from mutual respect and a shared vision. Continuously recognize and fulfill the unique needs of your company, the partnering organization, and the collective partnership for a successful collaboration.
Knowing and demonstrating your company's values is imperative to finding an equal business that shares similar beliefs. Company values should be more than a catalog of corporate buzzwords. It must be felt in every interaction, email, and decision. An organization's values must be embedded in how you communicate, collaborate, and perform for your philosophies to be meaningful.
When asked about advice for businesses looking to secure their first partnership, Frisella replied: 'My advice is simple: be willing to do the work, stay resilient, and only move forward with partners who share your values.' Understanding and expressing your own company values makes finding a business partner with similar values attainable.
Building a successful business partnership begins with strong self-awareness. Knowing and communicating your company's strengths, weakness, work styles, and values enables solid business partnerships. Effective collaborations embrace authenticity, flexibility, and a shared vision. Taking this approach will create partnerships that are not only strategic, but also meaningful and resilient.