Relationship building is a design practice, not a personality trait. Most organizations treat their external relationships as an accumulation of contacts — people they communicate with rhythmically or for a specific purpose. That produces a contact list. Not an asset.
We see an organization's entire external relationship portfolio as a single designable system — one that can be mapped, scored, built, maintained, and audited like any other infrastructure. Who supports you, who you partner with, who takes your call at the government office, who shows up when you ask. That portfolio is a strategic position. It should be assembled to mean something.
Your relationships are your infrastructure. And right now, no one is building it.
