What's your due diligence process?
This is for every organization ready to grow their ecosystem.
How much money have you spent on legal and financial due diligence?
My guess is a lot.
Most companies have an extensive DD process when it comes to deciding whether or not they want to collaborate, partner with, or invest in another organization.
Typically, hours are poured into reviewing the offer, financial modeling, and sussing out the details of the agreement.
But this is kind of... useless.
Because building a business is a creative, emergent process filled with unknowns.
When you're deciding to work with another organization, what you are really investing in is the belief that you’re two teams can come together and execute on an idea over the long run.
That you have the grit, resilience, and leadership capacity to figure it out and go from 0 to 100.
I'm mean... let's be real.
The biz model is going to change 1 million times over.
External factors, policies, climate change, the market, etc, will change the rules of the game. And most assumptions you made when drawing up that initial agreement are subject to change.
So how do you allow for that flexibility?
How do you create a blueprint for working together that achieves your goal while supporting the relationship in flourishing so that everyone can deliver their best work?
As an ecosystem builder, I’ve spent a lot time bringing people together.
I’ve advised CVC and innovation arms to source and vet deals for their portfolio. I’ve coached startups on choosing the right investors and I’ve supported accelerators on building out their regional development strategy.
With all of these actors, I'm often shocked at how little time is spent actually getting to know the people behind the deal before choosing to do business with one another.
In all actuality, I have found that tuning into people’s character and intentions as well as developing trust is the most important part of deal-making.
This is why I always start my matchmaking process by conducting personal due diligence.
Personal DD is about aligning on values, creating a shared vision that serves as a north star for the collaboration and calls forth the future you want to create.
Because if you’re reading this… odds are you are working to change the world.
Your actions today are in service of building a better tomorrow.
And for that to happen, you have to put forth an inspiring vision that others can follow around. You have to lead from your values. You have to align and work with others.
If you agree with this message, I’d love for you to write back and share your thoughts.
How do you conduct personal due diligence on other organizations when deciding whether or not you want to work with them?
PS: If you’re interested in hosting a vision and values workshop for your organization, reply back to me. I support executive leadership teams and startup founders in creating a shared vision and distilling the values that will get you there.