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Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed
by Michael D. Eisner, Aaron Cohen
Published: 2010
Recommended by Books of the Channel
Categories: partnerships, leadership
Why should you read it?
Because it offers a perspective on partnerships that most books in the technology space don't cover. Instead of focusing on programs, incentives, or go-to-market execution, this book draws from Michael Eisner's experience leading Disney to show how high-stakes, strategic partnerships actually behave over time. These are not transactional relationships or scalable channel motions, but complex alliances where billions of dollars, brand reputation, and long-term control are on the line.
For professionals in technology partnerships, the value lies in understanding how relationships evolve when alignment is imperfect and conditions change. It helps you see beyond the mechanics of partnerships and into the realities of managing power, trust, and expectations in situations where success depends less on structure and more on leadership and judgment.
What is the book about?
The book is built around real partnership stories from Disney, including its relationship with Pixar and other major players in entertainment and media. Through these examples, Eisner and Cohen explore how partnerships are formed, how they operate in practice, and why some succeed while others deteriorate over time despite strong initial logic.
At its core, the book shows that partnerships are not static agreements but evolving relationships. What begins as a well-aligned collaboration can shift as each side's priorities, leverage, and ambitions change. The narrative highlights how factors such as leadership decisions, communication, and control become more important than the original deal structure, especially as partnerships scale and start delivering real value.
Best takeaway
The most distinctive insight from this book is that the real challenge in partnerships begins after they start working. Success changes the dynamics of the relationship, often creating new tensions around control, ownership, and future direction. Partnerships that initially feel balanced can become unstable if that evolution is not actively managed.
For someone in technology partnerships, this is highly relevant in strategic alliances, platform relationships, and ecosystem plays where long-term collaboration matters. The lesson is not just to design a good deal, but to recognize that alignment will shift over time, and that sustaining a partnership requires continuously redefining how both sides create and capture value as the relationship matures.
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