Some people wrongly assume that a partnership facilitator should not have a strongly held personal vision. In this video story, Phill Butler argues that partnerships must be led by men and women with a strong commitment to a personal vision, without which it will be difficult to persevere through the challenges of building a partnership. “The problem,” Butler says, “is when you try to impose your vision on other people without their ownership.” The secret to powerful partnerships, Butler says, is to partner with others who have a general commitment to the same area, and then to ask: “Is there anything that we might do better together than if we work separately?”
12 Jun 2011 by Daniel Dow
In this video story, Ernie Addicott highlights one of the key operational issues faced by many ministry partnerships working in areas of the world where freedom of religion is oppressed: the issue of security and the use of encryption.
11 Jun 2011 by Daniel Dow
In this short video story about the building of a road in a remote African village, Phill Butler uses the metaphor of the path, the trail, and the road to describe the importance of building on limited achievable objectives in the context of partnerships.
10 Jun 2011 by Daniel Dow
In this video story, Ernie Addicott shares about the formation of the Bojpuri Partnership and how the initial catalysts were able to multiply their efforts through “second-hand relationships.”
09 Jun 2011 by Daniel Dow
In this video, Phill Butler shares a personal story about overcoming skepticism through inclusivity and persistence.
08 Jun 2011 by Daniel Dow
In this video, Ernie Addicott shares a short personal story from his early days of building partnerships on the topic of ascribed credibility (based on who you know) and earned credibility (based on what you do).
07 Jun 2011 by Daniel Dow
“It’s the celebration that keeps us going,” says Phill Butler in this video story which emphasizes the importance of acknowledging, sharing, and celebrating the progress your partnership makes in working together.
06 Jun 2011 by Daniel Dow
In this video story, Ernie Addicott talks about what happened when three different Bible translators from three different countries discovered that they had all been working on the same project in the same place without any knowledge of each other.
05 Jun 2011 by Daniel Dow
In this video story, Phill Butler shares about a partnership formation meeting that almost went off the rails. Butler talks about the importance of managing emotions and expectations in high-stakes meetings. He stresses the value of making progress visible so that participants have a sense of what they’ve actually been able to accomplish.
04 Jun 2011 by Daniel Dow
In this video story, Ernie Addicott talks about the underlying foundation of effective ministry collaboration – trusting relationships – and demonstrates how it is possible not only to work together across denominational boundaries, but to even build real and lasting friendships.
