Where are all the good suppliers? Well, I’ve managed to work with some really top-notch vendors over the years, and as I’ve been meeting with a growing number of them to set up partnerships in order to better serve our mutual clients, here’s what I see in “the good ones”:
* Creativity – the best companies continue to think, re-think, and ask the right questions.
* Drive – if your offering (or gaining new business opportunities) doesn’t excite you, it definitely won’t excite me!
* Reputation – when clients and other vendors recommend someone highly, I’m all ears.
* Integrity and transparency – neither I, nor my clients, are looking for a new source of problems.
* Partnering mindset – a readiness to work on making the pie bigger for everyone.
* Chemistry – a sense of interpersonal ease, and an intuitive agreement on how to view people and business.
These companies are flexible, client-focused, and collaborative. And, as one individual recently put it as we discussed partnering, the key distinguishing feature is “us” – that is, quality people with a right attitude.
No individual or company is perfect, but my aim is to work with the good ones.