All good things must end! Even a partnership.
A partnership has a defined life span- when the objectives have
been reached, or when the project is coming to an end, or when
the project enters a different phase. Sometimes, the partners may
feel that a formal partnership is no longer needed - whatever it
is, a partnership usually has an end.
Since a partnership is a project, the winding up of a partnership
is not dissimilar to closing down a project. The construction sector
is familiar with closing down completed project so we will not
spend a lot of time on this topic.
The following may not be your company's procedures, but it is meant
as a reminder.
-
Check Progress - have we achieved all we set out to achieve
in the partnership? Have the targets been met? Have we dealt
with all the issues?
-
Communicate - let everyone involved know the partnership is
coming to an expected end. Announce the achievements and benefits,
thank everybody (make sure that any regular meeting bookings
are cancelled and settle any unpaid bills!)
-
Document Management - log the necessary information and archive
them in such a way that they can be found easily (remember "Sort
and Set" in 5S).
-
What have we learnt? How can the Learning and Knowledge be passed
to the next group setting up a partnership?
and that's it! |
