Building partnerships and alliances of all kinds was viewed as far more important for the future than the past. Many organizations that seldom formed alliances in the past (such as IBM) are regularly forming alliances today. This trend will be even more important in the future.
Reengineering, restructuring and downsizing are leading to a world where outsourcing of all but core activities may become the norm. The ability to negotiate complex alliances and manage complex networks of relationships is viewed as becoming increasingly important.
The changing role of customers, suppliers and partners has deep implications for leaders. In the past it was clear who your "friends" were and who your "enemies" were. In the future these roles are becoming more blurred. In fields as diverse as energy, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals the same organization may be a customer, supplier, partner or competitor. In this "New World" building positive, long-term, "win-win" relationships with many organizations becomes critical. Defeating an "enemy" who may turn out to be a potential customer can prove to be a short-term victory.