Building Partnerships

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Test the alignment between what an organization wants from an external partner and what it must give in return.

Use it when: Use during strategic planning when scoping a new joint venture, vendor partnership, or cross-sector alliance before entering formal negotiations.

Skip it when: Skip when exploring internal team communication or when the core business model of the initiative is completely undefined.

Group arrangement: Paired teams of 2 to 5 people facing each other (multiples of 2 teams).

Timing: Adapted from Gamestorming duration (60 to 90 minutes) to a focused 65-minute run sheet.

Materials and tools

• Two Partnership Canvas templates per paired group (A3 or flipchart size)
• Sticky notes (two distinct colors per pair)
• Fine-tip markers (one per participant)
• Painter's tape

Before participants arrive

1. Print or draw two Partnership Canvas templates for each paired group.
2. Label one canvas 'Our Organization' and the second 'Partner Candidate'.
3. Arrange seating so paired teams sit facing each other with wall or table space between them.

Say this to open

Partnerships only hold up when both organizations gain clear value. Today we will test a potential partnership by splitting into two perspectives: one group will represent our organization, and the other will step into the shoes of the partner candidate. You will each map what you need, what you offer, and how value transfers, then negotiate across the table.

How to run it

1. Define intent and select candidate 10 minutes

   State the strategic goal for seeking an external partner. Have the room brainstorm candidate organizations on sticky notes. Group and choose one candidate per paired team. Divide participants into paired teams of 2 to 5 people: Side A (Our Organization) and Side B (Partner Candidate). Odd participants join an existing side as a designated observer or scribe.

2. Draft perspective canvases 20 minutes

   Side A and Side B work separately without consulting each other. Each team fills their canvas using sticky notes across four blocks: Desired Value (what they want), Offered Assets (what they can provide), Transfer Activities (how the exchange happens), and Created Value (the new benefit unlocked). Stop when both canvases have at least one concrete note per block.

3. Negotiate and mirror perspectives 20 minutes

   Bring Side A and Side B together facing their canvases. Side A presents their offer and desires in 3 minutes. Side B presents theirs in 3 minutes. The teams mirror the two sides: does Side A's offered asset truly match what Side B desires, and vice versa? Teams move, rewrite, or remove sticky notes to reconcile differences and reach a realistic exchange agreement.

4. Evaluate fit and determine actions 15 minutes

   Both sides jointly evaluate the agreed canvas against two criteria: Does the resulting value justify the operational effort? Are cultural or technical gaps manageable? Document agreed next steps, owners, and open questions on the bottom margin of the canvas. Gather the whole room to hear one primary insight from each paired table.

Debrief questions

• Where did the two sides identify immediate alignment in value?
• Which desired asset or activity exposed an unrealistic expectation?
• What is the single most critical assumption we need to validate directly with the external partner?

Finished output: A reconciled bilateral Partnership Canvas showing matched assets, transfer activities, and agreed next steps.

Remote

Create paired breakout rooms with shared digital whiteboard canvases (e.g., Miro or Mural). Side A and Side B populate separate frames for 20 minutes, then combine into one shared room with screen sharing to mirror notes and negotiate.

Hybrid

Assign in-person participants to one side and remote participants to the partner side, or create entirely remote and entirely in-person pairs. Remote groups use a shared digital board mirrored onto a room display for negotiation.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may contribute via silent sticky-note writing rather than verbal roleplay.
• Anyone may opt out of active roleplay by serving as the objective scribe tracking trade-offs.

If the session gets stuck

The team roleplaying the partner candidate defaults to being too cooperative.

Instruct Side B to protect their business interests and challenge whether Side A's offer is worth their effort.

Teams disagree fundamentally on what an asset is worth.

Note the gap on a pink sticky note as an unverified assumption to test directly in exploratory partner meetings.

Terms used here

• Partnership Canvas: A visual framework mapping desired assets, offered value, transfer activities, and created value between two entities.
• Mirroring: The deliberate check comparing what one side offers directly against what the other side says it needs.