The Partner Channel Magazine Winter 2016

Practice Prescription
Use the “STRAM” Model. Similar to SMART (but smarter), the STRAM model, used by Ken Blanchard as a
goal-setting tool, can also be refurbished for communication. When you’re starting out a business relationship or
project, ensure your communication with all parties is:
» Specific (Everyone agrees on what a good job looks like.)
» Trackable (How are we going to measure progress?)
» Relevant (Why is this important to the bigger mission or vision?)
» Attainable (Can we all agree that what we are communicating is realistic?)
» Motivating (Will our message create energy in our receiver or zap it?)
Leave no expectation unset by being crystal clear about what your words mean to you. Expect a follow-up from
your channel Partner? Let them know exactly what that means to you on the onset of your relationship and why it
matters that it happens that way. Have you been given an assignment? Ask the question: “What does a good job on
this assignment look like?”
The power of bagging fuzzy language and taking time to clarify and align on a shared definition of success cannot
be underestimated.
#2
MAKING ASSUMPTIONS
This may sound strange, but we constantly practice telling ourselves stories
PRACTICE
about the way things are. Naturally, we rely on our own perspective to make sense
PITFALL
of situations we face in business and in life – but our storytelling ability goes way
beyond that. We are such good storytellers that we don’t just make up stories for
ourselves. We make up stories for others, too.
» My channel Partner only cares about the bottom line, and that’s why he’s lacking
in customer service.
» This team member is lazy, and that’s why he doesn’t follow-up the way he should.
Our thoughts and assumptions are so powerful that we can create full-blown lives,
thoughts, and intentions of those around us...without ever asking them. This causes us to miss out on important
information and insights.
Practice Prescription
This Rx is two-fold. The first and easier part is to learn to recognize and test your assumptions. When that voice
in your head starts storytelling, take a moment to figure out where the story is coming from. Make it a game to poke
holes in your story to see how it holds up in your mind’s court of law.
The second half is a little more difficult and may take some getting used to: Ask questions. Once you’ve realized
that you’re making up a story, the next step is to fact check. If you’re feeling as though your channel Partner is
lacking in customer service, but you’ve checked your story and know they value it, ask them what’s going on. The
only way to truly gain insight and full perspective is to know the stories of others. Even better, pose your questions
with the intention that everyone should win, and watch how that changes your mindset.
“”
Naturally, we rely on our own perspective to make sense of situations we face in
business and in life – but our storytelling ability goes way beyond that.
36 WINTER 2016 | THEPARTNERCHANNEL.COM