A well-known poem by Robert Frost, “Mending Walls,” contains the famous line “Good fences make good neighbors.” This is also how a 2011 blog post on productive partnerships begins. The blogger pointed out that, while fences might support neighbors’ relationships, they don’t serve partnerships well at all. I have been interested recently in specifically what makes for good partnerships for two very important reasons: 1 Strategic partnerships and alliances are growing in importance and numbers as industries consolidate, research dollars shrink, and global opportunities open up; and 2 As the Baldrige Program looks to the next 25 years, I believe strategic partnerships will be critical to our growth and outreach. Indeed, the emerging Baldrige Enterprise is an important partnership we are building right now.
Jim McLaughlin's Blog 