Introduction

Business development is all about partnerships, and partnerships are all about advancing a company’s strategic goals through collaboration. It may seem obvious, but strategy, or more simply, your goals, must lead business development. Then the question becomes, “Is it better to collaborate or to do it on our own?” Over the last 30 years, the pendulum has swung from an internal focus to a highly external one, thereby making business development a crucial competency. While the nature of collaboration varies widely, the first step is finding what you need, and rigorously evaluating it against your goals.