Model 4: Operating Model
Build repeatable processes for partner activation and management. Transform strategy into execution with lifecycle management, enablement playbooks, and partner cadence.
This guide is Model 4 of the 5-model Partnership Architecture Framework. It translates strategy into repeatable operational processes and playbooks.
The Operating Model is the execution-focused layer that brings the strategy from Model 3 to life. It provides the standardized processes and cadences for managing the entire partner journey, ensuring both the partner and the business achieve their desired outcomes.
The operational challenge: Even the best partnership strategy fails without proper execution:
- Partners sign up but never activate
- Onboarding takes 6+ months instead of weeks
- Partners lack the knowledge and tools to succeed
- Relationships are managed inconsistently across the team
- "Paper partnerships" that exist in name only
This model solves these problems with repeatable, scalable processes.
The Principle of System Capacity
Critical principle: "A partnership can only succeed as far and fast as the systems supporting it can operate."
Even the best strategy will fail if the organization lacks the operational capacity, the processes, tools, and infrastructure, to execute it consistently and at scale.
Example: You sign a strategic reseller with 50 sales reps. Without a structured onboarding process, enablement materials, and ongoing support, those reps will never sell your product. The partnership fails not because of strategy, but because of operational gaps.
This model ensures you have the systems to support your ambitions.
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