Bridging the partnership divide [engineering partnerships - tools to help them work]

Engineers are often faced with the problem of delivering services in partnership with people from different organisations who bring with them very different assumptions about how to get things done. Unless you can take you partners with you, and take on board their views yourself, you will not achieve lasting success. This article describes a set of tools which are part of a body of emerging knowledge about what makes partnerships work. It details their dynamics and shows how to exploit them effectively.