Arto Kuusinen shares experiences with Anssi Rönnemaa, CFO from HMD Global on how strategic partnerships can drive successful businesses.

"In HMD Global, we will continue building stronger partnerships and even alliances, that is one way to compete, adapt and evolve in this ever-changing environment. Try to build products together with different companies to make better solutions for your customers."

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Aligning values and strategy to foster long-lasting success

For HMD Global, the recipe for successful partnerships is finding companies that share the same objectives, have a similar organizational culture, or share similar values about doing business.

"We’re a very small company, we’re the only European company in this industry and the industry is very big; we cannot compete without partners. What we’re looking for is, do we share the same objectives to win.  And most of the cases, the best results of the strategic partnership come if you’re able to identify the same competition”, Anssi Rönnemaa describes. 

Rönnemaa defines a well-working partnership as a relationship where 1+1 leads to more than 2 – the shared responsibility makes everything easier for all parties. But since every company brings something different to the table, this can look different based on each project and product. Because of the similarities in strategy, some of HMD Global partners have become shareholders.
 

Fostering innovation through collaboration

Rönnemaa gives two key R&D areas where partnerships have enabled them to bring something new to the market: data security, and their A Better Phone initiative. For the first one, they began by acquiring another Finnish company in order to bring their R&D in house.

"There’s only certain things we can do at HMD, but some of our partners can complement the product. It can be that when the two partners come together the solution is something that wouldn’t exist without the collaboration. That’s what we’re aiming for. I think it’s essential of the strategic partnership that you will find ultimately a product that will have a market, and that will keep you together.”

For the second objective, the company brought together parents and academia to co-create A Better Phone – a novel product that would support healthier digital habits for families, while also allowing users to benefit from the many advantages and freedoms smart phones provide.

Building trust while managing change

Trust is the cornerstone of any partnership, and is built through empathy, curiosity, and shared problem-solving.

"You need to have a culture in your company and your leaders need to show an example that they’re willing to have empathy for your partner’s objectives, and curiosity for their KPIs, what the partner is looking for. Soft skills are also very important – people need to see beyond transactional rewards."

Internally, overcoming silos and fostering collaboration are equally crucial. Leaders play a pivotal role in bridging gaps, as trust often begins with the example set by key individuals.

"Don’t underestimate that it’s people who are building the partnership, it’s not the legal agreement, the partnership goes between people. Usually, it’s two people who bring companies together, and then the teams follow."

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