Choosing business suppliers, partners or developing alliances can be tricky if you don't consider the options.

What input is made to the bacon and eggs served at many breakfast tables?
The chook was involved … the pig was committed.

At some time or another throughout your business activities or career you may be one or the other. There is nothing wrong or right about being a pig or a chook in any relationship. Your role as a business owner is to ensure that whatever relationship you have with other parties it is an informed one.

Local and international events over the last few years serve to remind us that ensuring business survival and employment security in troubled times requires more than taking things at face value.

Twelve months ago some businesses may have felt comfortable with the fact that they were key suppliers to various businesses who have failed, speaking to them now comfort is not a word they would choose. What strategy could they have adopted?

Many and I’m not about to list them in hindsight. Our role is to ensure that those outside forces that we can’t control we monitor and make informed decisions about.

Use the opening quirky comment to your advantage by conducting the exercise below.

1. List all the business clients / relationships that you have.
2. Rank them as A = Business Survival, B= Critical but not threatening, C= No issue.
3. Decide who is the pig, who is the chook, you or your supplier?
4. List beside each the reason for your decision.
5. Rank each relationship from most important too least important.
6. What can you do protect yourself where the relationship is negatively weighted? You are a pig they are a chook.

Knowing the status of your relationships

There may be relationships that are ‘A’ ranked where you are a pig and your supplier is a chook. That‘s OK as long as you recognise the fact, are aware of the consequences, have contingencies in place and can wear the grief if and when something goes wrong.

If you are the chook that doesn’t mean you rub the pig’s nose in it. Showing respect and keeping them informed of issues that could impact on your relationship is not only common courtesy but also good business.

We can’t expect every business relationship to be founded on equality of contribution or exposure to risk. Your business may contribute only 1% of your supplier’s revenue but the impact upon your business by this supplier may be absolutely critical. Managing this relationship requires a great deal of skill to ensure that you both win.

Some businesses use joint commitment statements, where each party lists what they propose to provide for each other. This statement is not a legally binding contract, what is does is place before both parties what contribution they each have agreed to make. This process ensures that in the event of a breakdown in the relationship, both parties are aware as to why it has occurred and so it provides a possible point for repairing the relationship or deciding that this is the parting of the ways.

In this modern world there are many processes, which have been compressed by technology or sped up by various management processes. Whilst being a part of this activity may be exciting remember that increasing speed has inherent risks, the quicker the rise can lead to an even quicker demise.

The role that Nature plays

Natural systems such as the weather, plant and animal production differ, in that pregnancy and seasons can’t be speed up. The weather and the international trading climate cannot be controlled .. what can is the planning and strategies to develop responses to how to react if negative events occur. Farmers are only too aware of this and work using this measured and cyclical process to their advantage.

Your business partners may be progressing with the development of new systems or building additional alliances, all of which may impact heavily upon both your businesses and its viability.

The demise of the ‘dot com’ may seem to be irrelevant to many but shows what can happen when systems are sped up. Any resultant impact may dramatically or diabolically affect your partner and eventually yourself.

The current advertising campaign relating to traffic speed in residential areas demonstrated quite effectively what happens when speed increases. Reaction times are reduced, corrective action can sometimes not be an option, “collateral damage” is a real issue.

You cannot direct your partners to act in your best interests. Instead manage your own level of risk using strategies applicable to your situation.

Life is not about feeling negative or behaving as if every thing will go wrong all the time. Take a positive approach to broadening your client base or personally communicating regularly with partners are just a couple of examples.

Remember … pigs and chooks can live happily together, with mutual respect and understanding.