How Starbucks’ humility turned into speed, scale, and trust
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH KIT (THE EMAIL FIRST OPERATING SYSTEM)
How has the week started for you?
Welcome to Partnership Wednesday #108 featuring ideas you can use to create partnerships faster, with less guesswork, and confidently close 6-figure deals.
Know someone who could use this edition? Share it with them here.
Have a question? Email me here
A LESSON TO BUILD ON
Starbucks wanted to move beyond cafés in the 1990s. Bottled coffee was the opportunity but they lacked global distribution muscle. Instead of going it alone, Starbucks’ then CEO Howard Schultz partnered with PepsiCo. Starbucks brought brand and product. Pepsi brought logistics and retail reach. Together they launched bottled Frappuccino, which became a billion-dollar category.
Leadership lesson: Growth isn’t about owning every link in the chain. It’s about knowing where you’re strong, and where a partner can make you stronger. Schultz admitted what Starbucks couldn’t do alone. That humility turned into speed, scale, and trust.
Because sometimes the fastest way to grow is to give part of it away.
AN ANSWER TO HELP YOU MOVE FASTER
We need to do more to sure up our supply chain. We’re not treating them like partners. How do I change that? I was asked this question from the crowd this week. Here’s my answer:
Sadly, most supplier deals aren’t designed to perform. They’re designed to survive.
Little scenario planning. No growth triggers. Few risk buffers.
Just a purchase order system and hope. That’s a liability.
Here’s a three-part decision-making playbook that can help your team move from a vendor to partner approach (and reap the benefits that come with that change)
Start by mapping the partnership across three trajectories:
1. Baseline Case
• “What can we rely on—if nothing breaks?”
• On-time delivery at ≥ 90%
• Fixed pricing and MOQs
• Manual reporting, no visibility
• No innovation or real ESG contribution
• Governance: quarterly check-ins
• Standard terms, minimal risk cover
2. Growth Case
• “What’s possible with alignment and focus?”
• Product expansion + co-funded upgrades
• Volume-based pricing
• Real-time demand planning
• Shared ESG milestones
• Monthly cadences and co-training
• Agility in lead times and capacity
3. Strategic Case
• “If this works, how do we win together?”
• Shared IP or new market entry
• Profit-linked or investment-based pricing
• Embedded tech and integrated systems
• Redundancy built in
• Weekly strategic syncs
• Joint capital deployment or innovation cycles
Now, create a spreadsheet with three columns.
Column A - Supplier Name
Column B - Allocate each supplier with Baseline, Growth or Strategic based on today’s circumstances.
Column C - Allocate each supplier a target state for 12 months time (Baseline, Growth or Strategic)
Here’s the point:
If you’re not scenario planning your critical supplier relationships, you’re not leading them.
And if your team can’t articulate these three paths, you’re flying blind.
Design for upside and build in resilience because suppliers might be your greatest untapped growth lever.
Here’s an infographic that might help you navigate this topic further.
THIS WEEK’S MOMENT
What if your biggest competitor could be your greatest ally?
In this 7-minute episode:
Learn how to spot the exact moment when partnering with a competitor makes more sense than outcompeting them
Discover frameworks for building limited-scope alliances that protect your core while expanding your reach
Gain a practical six-step playbook for structuring coopetition, tailored for small to mid-sized businesses
Get every episode of the Partnership Playbook on your next commute or workout. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Youtube!
KNOW PEOPLE WHO FEEL STUCK?
Want to share this issue of Partnership via text, social media or email? Just copy and paste this link:
https://philhsc.com/partnership/20-august-2025
Until next Wednesday,
Phil Hayes-St Clair - Executive Coach
When you're ready, there are three ways I can help you:
1. The Partnership Lab (Applications for the September cohort close 29 August): The Partnership Lab is an AI-fuelled system for sales and marketing leaders who need to close 6-figure partnerships—fast.
2. The Partnership Decision Sprint: 45-minute sessions built for leaders facing high-stakes partnership decisions. Invite up to three people from your team and walk away with clear, actionable next steps.
3. Leadership Events: From Cochlear and Lifeblood to military leaders, I have shared inspiring stories and practical frameworks and insights that shift how leaders leverage partnerships for growth. Book me to speak at your next conference, offsite, or leadership event.
Looking for something different? Send me an email.
Get the Wednesday Partnership
The only newsletter to help you build high-value partnerships for predictable growth in half the time.
Every Wednesday I share actionable insights to sharpen your partnership skills and help you confidently close 6-figure deals. BONUS: Subscribe and get 100 battle-tested tactics to earn trust, close faster, and drive growth through high-value partnerships.
