My friend David says that for a partnership to work, you must have a "throat to choke." This kind of control is tough when your partner is on another continent.
You instinctively know that you have to control your resources. But what is control, really, and how do you know when you have it?
Imagine this scene in a U.S. corporate office. You call John, a mid-level programmer, into your office...
"John, your performance is not making the grade. Three times in the last two weeks you've failed to follow specs, turned in shoddy work and been hard to communicate with. We think you're an ok guy, but we just can't have that kind of performance here. We're letting you go. Best of luck. Stop at Bill's desk on your way out and pick up a check."
Unpleasant, of course, but simple. Clear, direct, and immediate.
Now imagine that John is named Rume (or Lin or Juan) and this conversation is happening with your offshore partner's hiring manager Susan...
You: "Susan, we need to let Rume go. He's not cutting it. He doesn't follow specs and turns in shoddy work."
Susan: "Really? Let me talk to him. I'm sure he can do better. Give me a chance to
redirect him and let's review his situation next week."
You: "We really need to pick up speed. Can we get someone else in there soon?"
Susan: "I know his English is weak, but his technical skills are quite sharp.
Perhaps one of the others can help him with the specs."
You: "I don't want to derail the others from their work. He needs to pull his own
weight and he's not doing that. I need a replacement."
Susan: "Well, it will be a couple of weeks before we can get another programmer to
replace Rume. Let us look at the specs he is coding from. Perhaps there
is an opportunity to supply more clarity and keep him on track."
You (frustrated now): "We've already given him several chances, several opportunities
to improve and he's not working out."
Susan: "Ok, well, I will talk to my managers and we will start the process of screening
a new candidate for you. In the meantime, can Rume stay on the project for
the short term?"
You hang up feeling like you are trying to turn a barge with a billiard cue.
Here's the point, just in case I'm not being blunt enough... If you can't immediately replace a bad resource with a good one, you don't have control. The lag time between when YOU make a decision and the decision is EXECUTED is key. Sluggishness in the partnership can cause you shoddy quality, rework, drain on more talented resources, and project delays.
Make sure you have the power to terminate any project resource immediately. Write it into the contract.