Alignment versus discovery
Alignment is a mutual qualification conversation in which both parties assess fit, as distinct from a discovery call in which one party assesses the other.
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Why it matters
The substitution is the lesson.
A discovery call has a direction. One party is finding out about the other, usually to decide whether to sell to them. Both people in the room know which role they are in.
An alignment conversation has no such direction. Both businesses are assessing fit, both can decline, and the outcome is a shared decision rather than a verdict. Every alignment conversation ends in one of three places: rule out, nurture, or proceed.
That difference is not cosmetic. A partner who has been discovered has been qualified at. A partner who has been aligned with has participated in the decision, and partners who participated in the decision are the ones who act on it.
The most common failure is the maybe. A partnership nobody was willing to rule out consumes more time than one that was declined cleanly.
Where it sits in the framework
RMF7, the first module of the Launch phase. It is the gate between building a program and building a partnership.
Defined in Alignment.