Partnership represents ongoing collaboration for sustained value creation, replacing the transactional term “retainer” to emphasize mutual commitment and shared success.
The Reframe
“Retainer”:
- Implies holding back capability
- Suggests conditional access
- Transactional relationship
- Pay-for-availability model
“Partnership”:
- Implies mutual investment
- Suggests shared commitment
- Collaborative relationship
- Create-value-together model
What It Means
True partnership involves:
- Mutual investment in success
- Shared goals and outcomes
- Collaborative problem-solving
- Long-term commitment
- Value creation together
In Practice
Partnerships are characterized by:
- Proactive value creation
- Strategic collaboration
- Mutual growth and learning
- Shared risk and reward
- Sustained commitment
The language shift from “retainer” to “partnership” reflects a fundamental change in how we think about ongoing relationships—from transactional access to collaborative value creation.