Donal Treacy · Working documents · Plan on a page

Getting the partner programme off the ground

The first 90 days in the role, the critical path, and the constraints that shape it.
Mid-September → GSCReady to stand over in December. Live: January.
SeptemberWeeks 1 to 2 · from mid-month
OctoberWeeks 3 to 7 · blackout: FY26 ends, FY27 opens
NovemberWeeks 8 to 11
DecemberWeeks 12 to 13 · GSC
Legal and complianceCritical path · Donal drives
Partner agreement template. Filed week one. 8 to 12 weeks in queue.
Export control and party screening
ToolingDonal · pilot-only contract
Requirements: Dynamics first
Demo round: 4 vendors + reference calls
Security review and procurement queue
Configure and integrate to Dynamics
Content and enablementDonal + Product Enablement
Content audit: reuse before building
Mapped to the three tracks, gaps named
Operating modelDonal
Rules of engagement, drafted with sales
Tiers, entry criteria, the three tracks
FAE allocation agreed, before launch
RoE signed off
Data and attributionDonal + Sales Ops
Definitions agreed with Finance
Dynamics partner field. Change request filed early, sits in queue.
Reporting pack v1: clocks and triggers live
Coalition and sponsorshipRyan leads · Donal supports
Sponsorship visible: Mike and Rob
Sales leaders engaged, before the blackout
Entry-model decision: commitment now, fee on the roadmap
Back on the regional sales calls
PartnersPartner Development Manager
Census: Alliances + community, the capture pool
Founding cohort shortlisted, recruited for pipeline
Recruited and signed up
Manual pilot live: registration taught at kickoff
Milestones
GSC
Day 30Every queue joined. Census done. Sales heard. Definitions agreed.
Day 60Model designed. Tool in train. Cohort recruited.
Day 90Partners moving. First qualified registrations. A story worth telling.
Critical path Named dependency Build and queue work The proof Sales unavailable, year end The principle: most of this is a queue, not a task. You cannot speed a queue up. You can only join it on day one.

Ryan

Doors, not delivery
  • Exec air cover. Keeps Mike and Rob visibly attached to it.
  • Forces the entry-model decision and the budget.
  • Opens the doors to the regional sales leaders.
  • The escalation path when something jams.
Front load him. Everything needing Ryan happens in September and October.

Me

The machine
  • Drives the queues. Legal, compliance, security, procurement, Dynamics.
  • The content audit with Product Enablement. Reuse before building.
  • The operating model: tiers, entry criteria, the three tracks, rules of engagement negotiated with sales.
  • Attribution, the reporting pack, clocks and triggers, the internal comms.
  • The manual pilot with the founding partners.
One number and one story on the regional sales calls, every month.

Partner Development Manager

The relationships
  • Selects and recruits the founding cohort, starting from the census.
  • Owns the partner conversations and the Arrow handshake.
  • Co-sells opportunity one with each founding partner.
  • Feeds partner-side requirements back into the model.
The biggest risk to this plan. If the seat is empty, I do both jobs and both slip.