Ultimate Partner®

Welcome to the 77th episode of the Ultimate Guide to Partnering.

I was delighted to welcome a friend Ryan Risley  Principal and Chief Technology Officer of Wipfli’s business solutions consulting practice.

Wipfli is a 90-year young group of 2,500+ professionals focused by industry to help their clients navigate the challenges of tax, audit, strategy, leadership, technology, and more!

Last year Ryan led the team at Wipfli on a deep partnership with Team Rubicon and Microsoft Tech For Social Impact (TSI) - Justin Spelhaug' s organization –resulting in Wipfli being selected for the 2019 Partner for Social Impact Award from Microsoft US.  

Team Rubicon serves communities by mobilizing veterans to continue their service, leveraging their skills and experience to help people prepare, respond, and recover from disasters and humanitarian crises.  The partnership continues to this day as the teams work closely together pushing the boundaries to forward technologies use within a disaster response and humanitarian aid community.

Ryan's story is a great example of how applying both a growth AND outward mindset can lead to the opportunity like helping Team Rubicon with their mission.  Ryan and I peel back on his philosophy towards business, what makes a great partner, and his personal journey that led him to this spot in life.

PHILOSPHY TOWARDS BUSINESS

Here are his top three considerations:  

* Mindset - Start with an Outward Mindset – Be mindful of your intentions and be sure you’re looking out for others first.  Reducing unconscious bias, limited thinking, and victim mentality.* Story Telling - Learn how to be an authentic and compelling storyteller – Master this to help others see the future they want to achieve.* The Walkaway - A Successful Walkaway is the positive things people think and say to others after an interaction with you or your team.  It’s one of the key ingredients to growth.

PARTNERSHIPS & MICROSOFT 

Ryan’s work goes across several marquee social good organizations where he and the Wipfli team are actively engaged with NetHope and Microsoft's Tech For Social Impact. The Advisory and technical teams from Wipfli are enabling impactful organizations like Medicine San Frontiers (Doctors without Borders), Save the Children, Operation Smile, and many others in their digital transformation to make progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.  To learn more, listen to my recent episode with Justin Spelhaug, Microsoft Vice President for TSI.

Ryan believes partnerships are less successful when:

* There are missed expectations (which start at the beginning)* There is a fixed or inward mindset* One partner feels entitled (e.g. when partners expect leads without earning it).

HIS CAREER AND PERSONAL LIFE

Ryan and his lovely wife, Elizabeth, live a life filled with adventure and purpose as they look to show there is hope, love and beauty in the world.

* Starting with philanthropy at an early age, Ryan felt the need to expand his reach to community for his Eagle Scout Project* Hear about the wake-up call in college that got him on a path to success and possibly the "successful walkaway"* How he and his wife apply a "Regret Minimization Framework" to key decisions in their life.                            * Advice from his father to climb the mountains while you’re still young enough to reach the top.

Welcome to the 76th episode of the Ultimate Guide to Partnering. I was delighted to welcome back to the podcast a dear friend Dux Raymond Sy, the Chief Brand Officer at AvePoint.  

I met Dux years ago and he was a guest, Episode 15 of the podcast. He's an expert at branding, social media, marketing, and much more.

I was excited to feature him again to share his insights and pearls of wisdom on these topics. Additionally, we discussed the impact of the pace of change and digital transformation since the pandemic and his company AvePoint's efforts toward addressing diversity and inclusion.  

The world has changed quite a bit since we last spoke. Dux and I dove into the changes we are both seeing during this highly transformative time. 

AvePoint boasts the only full suite of SaaS solutions designed to migrate, manage, and protect data in Office 365. Their governance and protection of Microsoft Teams, has exploded in popularity since the beginning of the Pandemic.   

BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA 

With over 15,000 followers on Twitter and thousands on LinkedIn, Dux has mastered the art of social media. We discuss the importance of branding and a social media presence. Here are his top three considerations:  

* Get your brand out there, get to know more people. It might potentially lead to a better future.  * Always be altruistic. Offer knowledge, answer questions and provide information for your followers.  * Represent your organization, cause, purpose.  

PARTNERSHIPS & MICROSOFT 

Dux has also done a masterful job branding himself and his company in partnership with Microsoft. He equates partnership to marriage, where a solid commitment on both sides is critical, in it for the long haul and attuned to your partner's needs. For Dux, it comes down to three partnership pillars: 

* Technical aspect: It's essential to stay close as your partner pivots to understand how their technology is evolving and where you can maximize your value. * Go-to-market aspect: You need to have a deep understanding of each region's operating model, business goals, and how each team aligns and measures against priorities and goals.  * Relationships: building these wide and deep, instead of only relying on the people assigned as your partner development managers for success.  

TECH, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION 

Dux was an immigrant to the United States from the Philippines, and his optimism for opportunity and penchant for giving back to others shines through loud and clear. 

AvePoint's a culturally diverse organization with offices all over the world. With diversity and inclusion top of mind, AvePoint has a formal program called IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Allyship). Here are it's five key tenants:  

* AvePoint involves and includes everyone in the organization to participate and promote unity.  * AvePoint's committed to a diverse workforce, including people from different backgrounds, races, cultures, and countries.  * They take time to listen, reflect, learn, and unlearn from one another to understand different viewpoints, challenges, and stereotypes.  * Empower colleagues to lead and act and see the fruits of how they help others.* They encourage everyone to give back to the community through volunteer work.  

If you are a business leader, partner leader, brand, marketing leader,

Since the pandemic began, I have written, blogged, and recorded podcasts about how society has been impacted, and how organizations can come out of this time, better than before.

One area where most of us have been affected is Education and Learning. I see firsthand through my engagement with Blackbaud and their K12 Teams and partners like BrightArrow, how educators and schools are adjusting from the physical to the virtual, and are leveraging technology in bolder ways.

The spotlight for this episode is an interview with Travis Warren, President K12 Private School Group at Blackbaud.

Travis shares how a modern cloud technology platform is allowing customers and the K12 Education market to pivot and adjust during this time. He also shares why partnerships are a key accelerant to delivering "best of breed" capabilities to his customers, including BrightArrow's Mass Notification Solution.

Also joining this episode is Raymond Bily, the Founder, and CEO of BrightArrow, to discuss the partnership from his perspective.

I hope you enjoy this episode, as it uniquely shares how two organizations can partner together, leverage technology in bolder ways, and deliver for the greater good

LINKS & RESOURCES

* Find Travis Warren on LinkedIn and Twitter.* Blackbaud * About Blackbaud K12 Private School Group* Becoming a Blackbaud Partner* Find out more about BrightArrow* Travis' Billboard - "Persistence, Patience, and Humility"* Best Piece of Advice - "If you never quit, you never fail"* The Transcript of the Interview is below.

As with each of my episodes, I appreciate your support. Please tell your friends about Ultimate Guide to Partnering and where they can find us. I’d love your feedback. Please like the podcast and provide comments or reach out to me at @vincemenzione on Linked In, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also like and follow Ultimate Guide to Partnering Facebook page or drop me a line at [email protected].

Ultimate Guide to Partnering  is a rich compendium of what makes successful partnerships and is available on iTunes, Spotify, Google 

My guest for this 74th Episode of the Podcast is Don Yaeger.

Don is an Award-Winning Leadership Speaker, Executive Coach, New York Times Best-Selling Author, business owner, podcast host, and dear friend. In this episode, we share a unique and far-reaching conversation between two friends.

Our friendship started with a chance encounter at a Channel Reseller News Event a dozen years back. I've had the privilege of working with Don on many occasions. Both at Microsoft and again when I led the Global Partner Program at Blackbaud.

Don has authored 32 books and 11 New York Times Best Sellers, building a body of work around greatness and leadership.

He also coaches business leaders, has developed courses for top executives, is an award-winning speaker, and recently started "The Corporate Competitor Podcast".

Don Lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with his wife Jeanette and two beautiful children.

Most recently, Don was struck with COVID 19 and was hospitalized for about nine days. In this episode, we discuss how this life-threatening experience has impacted his life and his family.

We also explore the business principles that universally apply to all aspects of the business, including great partnerships as Don has coached and worked with many great partner business leaders throughout his career. 

I chose the title of this episode because I believe that we all have the opportunity to learn and grow despite our circumstances.

Don's very personal and private experience has impacted him and his family. Toward the end of the interview, Don asks, "how will we each emerge differently when this pandemic is done?"

I want to thank Don for his willingness to share his personal experience with Covid. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed spending time with Don Yaeger.

LINKS & RESOURCES

* Don Yaeger's Website.* Find Don on LinkedIn and Twitter.* Learn more about the podcast https://bit.ly/2OvZbi8* Be the first to listen to Corporate Competitor Podcast: https://bit.ly/2X8qCDh* The Transcript of the Interview is below.

As with each of my episodes, I appreciate your support. Please tell your friends about Ultimate Guide to Partnering and where they can find us. I'd love your feedback. Please like the podcast and provide comments or reach out to me at @vincemenzione on Linked In, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also like and follow Ultimate Guide to Partnering Facebook page or drop me a line at [email protected].

Ultimate Guide to Partnering  is a rich compendium of what makes successful partners...

I'm excited to welcome to the podcast Justin Spelhaug, the leader for the Tech for Social Impact group within Microsoft Philanthropies. As the leader for Tech for Social Impact in Microsoft, Justin brings together 22 years of experience spanning commercial and social businesses.

Prior to his current role, Justin served as the Chief Marketing & Operations Officer for Microsoft Asia Pacific spending over 7 years of his career working across developed and emerging Asian markets.  Justin also helped to launch the Unlimited Potential organization within Microsoft, with a focus on developing new and more affordable computing solutions to close the digital divide for lower-income societies globally. He also honorably served in the United States Marine Corps, earning numerous medals as part of his service. 

Justin and I got to know each other while I was running the Global Partner Organization for a top ISV in the sector. In this interview, Justin and I discuss the Tech For Social Impact organization, its mission, and areas of focus. We also dive into the importance of partners in driving Social Good, and his personal and professional journey.

The title of this episode is from the now-famous quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi. His life, deeds, and his quote have inspired many, including both my guest and me.

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed spending time with Justin Spelhaug.

LINKS & RESOURCES

* Find Justin on LinkedIn and Twitter.* His Three Area of Focus:* Using technology to help nonprofits become more secure, more efficient, and drive greater impact. * Solving tough challenges using Data and AI. * Become a catalyst for partners and citizen developers to innovate and advance the mission. * Find out more about Microsoft Tech for Social Impact.* Microsoft Announcement.* Bill and Melinda Gates Challenger Report. * John Lewis' Book - Walking With the Wind. * The Transcript of the Interview is below.

As with each of my episodes, I appreciate your support. Please tell your friends about Ultimate Guide to Partnering and where they can find us. I'd love your feedback. Please like the podcast and provide comments or reach out to me at @vincemenzione on Linked In, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also like and follow Ultimate Guide to Partnering Facebook 

Welcome to Episode 72 of Ultimate Guide to Partnering. My guest for this episode of the podcast is a former CEO and Entrepreneur who successfully grew and sold technology businesses in the Microsoft Partner Ecosystem, Linda Rose.

I met Linda about three years ago when we both had a chance to present during the Executive Roundtable at the Extreme 365 event hosted by our mutual friend Christy Spokely, which was November of 2017, and quite a bit has happened since then.

Linda's book "Get Acquired for Million's - A Roadmap for Technology Service Providers to Maximize Company Value" is the definitive book for technology organizations looking to be acquired. In the book, she provides strong guidance to business owners and operators on maximizing their organizations' value, and it's a how-to guide to getting your company acquired.

As an entrepreneur, Linda's story is fascinating, and we discuss her journey and the lessons she learned along the way.

I find the advice and guidance to be so valuable to the owners and operators of the hundreds of thousands of technology companies in our sector, most of which are small and privately owned.  Our mutual friend Jay McBain's quote that 40% of technology service providers will be exiting and retiring by 2024 makes her insights and lessons compelling and timely. I also find her work essential to the thousands of Partner Development Managers working with these partners to coach better and advise their channel partners.

We will provide links for the book and our discussion in our show notes, and we will also provide a link to a free Audible sample of the book.

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed spending time with Linda Rose.

LINKS & RESOURCES

* Find Linda on LinkedIn and Twitter* Sample the first chapter of Get Acquired for Millions* Find out what your company is worth with the Value Maximizer Assessment (the code is PC2020).* Linda's book "Get Acquired for Million's - A Roadmap for Technology Service Providers to Maximize Company Value"* Book she recommends - Finish Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top, Bo Burlingham. * The Transcript of the Interview is below.

As with each of my episodes, I appreciate your support. Please tell your friends about Ultimate Guide to Partnering and where they can find us. I'd love your feedback. Please like the podcast and provide comments or reach out to me at @vincemenzione on Linked In, Twitter,

Welcome to the Ultimate Guide to Partnering and the second installment of my interview with Tiffani Bova.

Tiffani Bova is a Business Anthropologist, Growth Evangelist and Transformation Advisor, Keynote Speaker, Bestselling Author, and Thinkers 50 Member.

She hosts the "What's Next Podcast with Tiffani Bova" and is the author of the Wall Street Journal Best Selling Book "Growth IQ, Get Smarter About the Choices that Will Make Or Break Your Business."

Tiffani and I continue discussing her book and how partnerships can be a critical accelerant to growth. We also discuss why many organizations don't get partnerships right. Tiffani also gives examples of what organizations need to do to lead and come out of this time better. As with each of my episodes, we finish the interview with Tiffani's sound career advice.

I hope you enjoy Part Two of my interview with Tiffani Bova.

LINKS & RESOURCES

* About Tiffani Bova* "Growth IQ, Get Smarter About the Choices that Will Make Or Break Your Business."* "What's Next Podcast with Tiffani Bova"* Thinkers 50 List* Ask!: The Bridge from Your Dreams to Your Destiny, by Mark Victor Hansen.* Trailhead - Salesforce Learning * The Transcript of the Interview is below.

As with each of my episodes, I appreciate your support. Please tell your friends about Ultimate Guide to Partnering and where they can find us. I'd love your feedback. Please like the podcast and provide comments or reach out to me at @vincemenzione on Linked In, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also like and follow Ultimate Guide to Partnering Facebook page or drop me a line at [email protected].

Ultimate Guide to Partnering  is a rich compendium of what makes successful partnerships and is available on iTunes, Spotify, Google 

Welcome to the Ultimate Guide to Partnering - if you've been around the tech sector and world of partnering and the channel for the last 15 years - my guest for this episode of the podcast needs no introduction.

Tiffani Bova is a Business Anthropologist, Growth Evangelist and Transformation Advisor, Keynote Speaker, Bestselling Author and Thinkers 50 Member.

Tiffani has the Coolest Title, Global Growth Evangelist at Salesforce. She hosts the "What's Next Podcast with Tiffani Bova" and is the author of the Wall Street Journal Best Selling Book "Growth IQ, Get Smarter About the Choices that Will Make Or Break Your Business." Her credentials are very impressive, and we provide a link to her complete profile below.

I first met Tiffani Bova when she was a VP, Distinguished Analyst, and Research Fellow at Gartner and supported top technology giants and hyper scalers like Microsoft. After I started my podcast, I invited Tiffani as a guest Episode 32 almost three years ago, right after Tiffani had started up her own What's Next Podcast with Tiffani Bova. Quite a bit has changed since that point in time, and I was excited to have her back as a guest during this latest edition of Ultimate Guide to Partnering.

Tiffani and I have both been blogging about the importance of partnerships during this time like no other. I knew having Tiffani would mean a wide-ranging, thought-provoking interview, and Tiffani did not disappoint. We could have easily spent two more hours, and after recording this episode, I have decided to release this in two parts.

In this interview, Tiffani and I have a far-reaching discussion on a myriad of topics. Specifically, in this interview, we discuss:

* The state of business during the pandemic* How partnerships can be a critical accelerant to growth* The role and importance of co-opetition* Why organizations often don't get partnerships right* What organization need to do now to lead and come out of this time better* The opportunity and the obligation we in the tech sector have to lead during this time. 

We also discuss her career trajectory, how her path was informed, mentors, and principles that have shaped her journey.

One of the things that I like the most about Tiffani is that she is not afraid to be bold, to be controversial to challenge the status quo and you can hear that by the way she responded to some of my questions - sometimes it felt uncomfortable as an interviewer, but I find that is a good thing.

I hope you enjoy Part One of this far-ranging discussion and will join us for Part Two.

LINKS & RESOURCES

* About Tiffani Bova * "Growth IQ, Get Smarter About the Choices that Will Make Or Break Your Business."* "What's Next Podcast with Tiffani Bova"* Thinkers 50 List* Transcription Below the Shownotes

As with each of my episodes, I appreciate your support. Please tell your friends about Ultimate Guide to Partnering and where they can find us. I'd love your feedback. Please like the podcast and provide comments or reach out to me at @vincemenzione on Linked In,

Welcome to the 69th episode of the Ultimate Guide to Partnering.

I'm so excited to be back. These last nine episodes have been a blast for me personally - I've been honored to have outstanding leaders in the technology sector join the revival. I am also excited for the many notable guests that have agreed to join us for future episodes.

I've learned quite a bit through my excellent guests in this latest edition of Ultimate Guide to Partnering, and the podcast has given me a chance to reconnect with some friends to discuss what is happening at this time like no other.

These are both exciting and turbulent times. The pandemic has created uncertainty in our economy and our world, necessitating new societal norms and accelerated technological transformation. Since George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others have led to a heightened awareness of the need to finally solve for racial injustice in our society.

People are craving certainty and direction during these incredibly uncertain and turbulent times.

What I have seen from this technology sector has been resiliency - grit determination from my incredible guests. I believe the industry is rising, and technology is accelerating the transformation in most industries. I've said there would be winners and losers, but I believe new opportunities will be exposed as we push the limits through this time.

I have had many remarkable and far-reaching conversations with this first round of guests, including Jay McBain from Forrester, Tony Safoian of Sada Systems, Sharan Hildebrand from Hitachi, and Lani Phillips, Rodney Clark, and Brent Combest from Microsoft. I even had the chance to be interviewed by my friend Rob Spee, host of the Channel Journey's Podcast. If you have missed any of these episodes, I encourage you to go back. They have each been terrific.

I believe that each of us in the technology sector have an opportunity, and perhaps an obligation, to lead and create certainty during these turbulent and uncertain times.

We have an opportunity to come out of 2020 a better culture, a better people, and greatly enhance our future world through the work we do in technology.

I've also been passionate about overcoming adversity. I'm excited when I hear from these leaders tell their stories on my podcast about how they and their teams work are driving the change. From Lani's work to lift-up underrepresented minorities and bring black-owned partners to the Microsoft mainstream, Tony's work on the National Response Portal and Rodney Clark's team - leading the new future of work!

Many of you following and joining me on the journey know I've made it my life's work to help organizations achieve exceptional business outcomes through successful partnering to achieve more significant results. I have learned that building successful partnering can be a key accelerant to getting the most results.

For the 68th Episode of Ultimate Guide to Partnering, I'm excited to welcome back Brent Combest, Microsoft General Manager for National and Local Partners on the US One Commercial Organization. Brent was an early guest two years ago, Episode 58, "Focus on Launching Successful Partner Business Models." Both his role and the world have changed since this 2018 interview.

I was excited to have Brent as a guest because his work impacts many of Microsoft's largest partners in the United States. In this episode, we discuss the impactful work of his team during these uncertain times, how he coaches the team on best practices for what makes a great Partner Development Manager (PDM), what makes successful partnerships, his career journey, and the lessons he learned from mentors and role models, including his father.

It a far-reaching and broad discussion that I believe is impactful not only to Microsoft Partners, Customers or Employees but also anyone looking to grow their career.

I so enjoyed this discussion and the broad range of topics, including:

* The role of his National and Local Partner Organization* The transformation is seeing now during these times. * Microsoft's increased emphasis on industries and partner-to-partner selling. * The Three Roles of a Successful Partner Development Manager.* Words he lives his life by and advice he would give to his 25-year-old self.

As with each of my episodes, I appreciate your support. Please tell your friends about Ultimate Guide to Partnering and where they can find us. I'd love your feedback. Please like the podcast and provide comments or reach out to me at @vincemenzione on Linked In, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also like and follow Ultimate Guide to Partnering Facebook page or drop me a line at [email protected].

LINKS & RESOURCES

* Find Brent Combest on LinkedIn and Twitter.* Email - [email protected]* Link to Dr. Michael Grevais.* The transcript of our interview is available below.

Ultimate Guide to Partnering  is a rich compendium of what makes successful partnerships and is available on iTunes, Spotify, Google SoundCloud,