---
id: "action-shift-partnership-strategy"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["§ 2. A network of partners"]
tags: ["vendor-management", "strategy"]
related: ["claim-partnership-ecosystem-maturation", "framework-four-pillars-of-ai-success"]
action: "Partner with mature consultants and established vendors rather than relying solely on academia or startups."
outcome: "Faster deployment and accelerated payback periods through the use of practical, proven approaches."
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2025/01/what-companies-succeeding-with-ai-do-differently"
source_title: "What Companies Succeeding with AI Do Differently"
sources: ["execution"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-execution"
originDay: 8
articleStem: "hbr-cl-89-companies-succeeding-with-ai"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/01/what-companies-succeeding-with-ai-do-differently"
sourceTitle: "What Companies Succeeding with AI Do Differently"
---
# Shift Partnerships to Commercial Vendors

**Action:** Transition external AI partnerships away from purely academic institutions and early-stage startups toward **mature consultants, established vendors, and industry partners** — while still building internal capability (~90% of leaders do).

**Why:** This aligns with the maturation of the AI ecosystem, where practical, commercially viable approaches yield faster payback.

**Expected outcome:** Faster deployment and accelerated payback periods.

Implements pillar #2 of [[framework-four-pillars-of-ai-success]]; grounded in [[claim-partnership-ecosystem-maturation]]. Caveat ([[contrarian-academic-partnerships-declining]]): retain academic/startup ties for **frontier** innovation even as commercial partners dominate **operationalization**.