Customer/supplier partnerships are all about trust, commitment and leadership at every level, shared vision, common goals, respect, the long-term view, resolving conflicts, flexibility, clear and effective strategies, sustained competitive advantage, ownership, empowerment, attitude, innovation, removing hidden agendas, teamwork, people, suppliers, customers, customers' customers, suppliers' suppliers, communication, hard work, making/taking the time (a lot of it), cooperation, respect, win/win, compromise, risk taking, interdependence, sharing everything (information strategy, vision, people, ideas, risks and benefits), imagination, creativity, initiative, lateral thinking, friendship, centres of excellence, role models, over-delivering, unravelling/managing complexity, getting the basics right the first time every time, exceeding requirements and expectations, achieving world class-and a whole lot more.