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Hi Reader,

I recently came across a post from business owner Andrew Amann that hit home. He said hiring a big firm like Deloitte to develop your strategy is like “paying someone to teach you to swim by showing you pictures of water.”
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And, he’s right.

You don’t learn to swim by studying pictures. You learn by getting in the water.

I’ve been swimming since I was young, and I can tell you - it’s not enough to grow up near water, or see it every day. You have to feel it. Touch the bottom. Kick your legs. And, float.
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And when you are learning how to swim, you need someone you trust beside you. Someone who knows how to swim, who can step in if you start to sink.

For me, that person was Alice, a dear family friend and the calmest floater I’ve ever seen. She taught me how to float, how to trust the water, and how to stay up even when it felt like I might go under. Over the years, we would spend hours out on the lake, just talking and drifting together. And if you know how to float, learning how to swim is so much easier.

Why am I telling you this?
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Because I believe we all can all float, then help each other swim. And no one needs to spend $100k for a bunch of glossy pictures to get started.

We just need someone like Alice.

Sink no more

Last week, a new colleague told me during a video chat that she partners only with other companies to serve clients - just like Deloitte and other big firms do, but on a smaller scale. I realized I’ve been doing the same thing, but I haven’t been communicating this outwardly as well as I could.

So the purpose of this article is to tell you just that - not what I do, but what we can do together.

Anyone who knows me knows I’ve always valued partnerships and collaboration. But now, it’s not just optional, but essential.

The way my colleague put it, the more we connect, the more we “get” what each other does in our businesses. It’s this “getting” that helps us do work together. Essentially, we become each other’s Alices, exploring our businesses together by floating and talking together.

I have a strong network of trusted business contacts and I’m sure you do too. In fact, if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance I’m one of your trusted connections.

It’s all about partnerships…we already know that. But the real question is, how are we leveraging them? Are we just reaching out to potential clients on our own, or are we approaching them with our network of partners in mind?

Float and learn together

Just last week, I met a business owner over a video call, and we instantly hit it off. During our conversation, a small opportunity came up, and we decided to submit a proposal together, although the bid was due the next day. We teamed up, wrote the proposal, and got it submitted. Done.

What I loved is we learned all about each other’s companies, although a lot quicker than we both wanted, and now I know precisely how we can work together in the future.

It’s not just about us working together as Alices, but it’s about teaming up to help our potential clients succeed too. Essentially, helping teach these clients how to swim.

And yes, this brings me back, yet again, to my favourite topic I’ve been writing about lately: roles. We all have our strengths, don’t we?

Who does what?

Many business owners struggle to stay organized, especially when juggling their own tasks and the needs of their clients. We all know how things can get messy fast. But that's okay, because every business owner has a role: to deliver the products or services they do best.

For me, and for all the other project professionals reading this article, our superpower is managing uncertainty—anything that is unclear or lacks defined boundaries. That’s where we thrive, whether it’s a project, a product, or that new “thing” no one quite understands yet.

And whatever that “thing” might be, which many of you are experts at - such as AI tech, medical software, marketing, cybersecurity, or strategic planning, we partner together to manage the thing for the client.

Bingo - happy client.

And the best part? These happy clients learned to swim with real experts, organized by skilled planners who didn’t just show them what it could look like, but instead are real, hands-on experts that won't let them sink. With solutions designed to keep them swimming for the long term.

And the second best part? You didn’t have to manage the thing because that’s where we excel. You may have the planning skills within your company, but do you really have the capacity?

Bingo again - happy partnership.

Here’s my ask: If we’ve already partnered on shared clients, let’s keep the momentum going. And if we haven’t worked together yet, or don’t fully understand each other’s businesses, let’s connect. Reach out, and let’s set up some “floating time” to see how we can teach clients to swim.

Meanwhile, we’ll let those big companies keep their glossy swimming pictures to themselves.

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