Making Sense of Uncommon Sense

The summer holidays have come to an end for most of us, and the warm, long days have started to shorten and are getting colder.main

Back to my senses?
I was on my way back from my summer vacation, when I did something completely different. Instead of racing back home on Germany’s autobahn for a full day, I branched off midway to experience the scenic beauty of the Main valley. This unfamiliar route unfolded a whole new Germany for me, with quaint little medieval villages and vineyards carpeting the hill slopes. I was completely unaware of the existence of all this beauty due to my robotic habit of driving through the known paths to reach my destination quickly. Now, before you jump to any conclusion, let me clarify that am not a trip advisor – the intent of sharing this experience is to stress that doing things differently certainly pays off.

Nonsense or uncommon sense?
While I explore the most efficient and fastest routes to market, it’s critical to think of other routes too – ones that may not be the fastest, but eventually turn out to be more effective. In those cases, common sense is not always the best advisor. Sometimes you need to apply some healthy levels of uncommon sense to obtain new insights. Peter Cochrane’s book titled Uncommon Sense is a great eye-opener in that regard. The subtitle tells you exactly what to expect: Out of the Box Thinking for an in the Box World. That certainly is no-nonsense!

Simplifying complexity as a prerequisite
Business models evolve rapidly and complexity continues to increase. Vendors become customers, providers become vendors, customers become partners, and they often take on multiple roles at the same time. During my visit to the Cloud World Forum in London last June, I also saw this underlined in my conversations with various participants, exhibitors, and during presentations by speakers.

I  break this complexity down into digestible chunks – you can blame it on my obsession for structure.

I am currently building and strengthening relationships with our Strategic Technology Partners – forming the foundation of the infrastructure that we provide to our customers. It is vital for our customers, partners, and Leaseweb to stay in direct and close contact with those that provide the key components for our services. At the assembly point, we ensure all those pieces fit together, are tested and validated so that the engine runs smoothly.

In parallel, my other key focus right now is on the Channel. Both on Channel Partners that add value through expertise, skills, and competencies that are complementary to hosting, and on Partners that do not focus on the hosting business, yet know companies in need of hosting services.

What that really means
As I explained in my introduction last month, I am responsible for building and managing these partnerships. Each Channel Partner type has different requirements and levels of engagement. Having multiple partner programs for them will effectively address the individual needs and make the partnerships more valuable in terms of monetary and non-monetary advantages –which will be accessible through these newly crafted initiatives.

What’s next?
There’s more on the map besides Strategic and Channel Partners that asks for exploration and invites me to visit! Do you want to continue the ride with me – on and off the beaten track? It may take you to unexpected places. Stay tuned for my next blog and you’ll learn more about the opportunities ahead.

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