Dear Friends,

The benefits of a good business partnership are enormous: camaraderie, synergy, better decision making, ability to pursue larger opportunities, relief from those jobs that do not align with your strengths or interests.  But the costs of a bad partnership can be devastating; it can tear friendships, families and businesses apart.  The emotional toll impacts not just the partners themselves, but their spouses, employees and anyone who is close to them.  Financial costs accrue from a partner’s underperformance, time lost focusing on issues that do not generate revenue, lost productivity among employees, not to mention the possibility of litigation or other legal costs.  

The best way to maximize the chances of having a positive partnership experience is to carefully talk through all relevant issues prior to entering the partnership.  Very few people have partnership agreements that are sufficiently clear and comprehensive.  Even those who have legal contracts in place often neglect to address some basic issues that could lead to bad blood down the line.

1. Are your business priorities in alignment? Profitability, customer service, innovation, etc. are all important.  When push comes to shove, do you agree on which will take precedence?
   
   
2. Do you have the same long-term vision?  How many employees do you want?  How many locations do you want?  As the company grows, how will your respective roles change?
   
   
3. What is your motivation for going into partnership?  Companionship? Accountability?  The other person has skills or expertise you don’t have?
   
   
4. What are other ways you could get what you are looking for out of the partnership?  Could you hire someone to fulfill those roles?  Could you hire a coach for accountability?  How else might you get the companionship you desire?
   
   
5. What happens if one of you is incapacitated for a period of time? Emergencies happen. How will you respond if your partner has a serious medical or family problem that interferes with her ability to perform the work? Do you have a plan in place for such an eventuality? Insurance? Have you decided how this would impact your respective ownership shares and/or income?
   
   
6. How will you make business decisions?  Will you make all decisions by consensus?  Do you plan to divide responsibilities by area of expertise? How will you resolve major disagreements?
   
   
7. What is your plan for making changes to the partnership? Nothing remains the same forever.  What if one person wants to leave? What are your methods for valuing the company and arranging a buyout?  Under what circumstances might you add an additional partner?  
   
   
8. What if one person wants to dissolve the partnership and the other does not? Do you have a structure in place to resolve disputes? Do you have a plan in place for dissolving the partnership?
   
   
9. Do you agree on what constitutes a good working environment? Is efficiency most important? Colleagues taking the time to get to know each other? High quality support staff?  Attractive décor? Using the most cutting edge technology?
   
   
10. By what method (and how frequently) do you anticipate communicating?  Do you prefer email?  Face-to-face meetings?  Phone conversations?  Text messages?  How late at night (or early in the morning) is an acceptable time to call you on the phone? 

It has become clear to me that there is a huge need for coaching in the realm of business partnerships, so I am now offering two partnership-related coaching services.  I assist partners or prospective partners to explore systematically and define their expectations of one another and create contingency plans to address potential future issues.  Second, I help partners whose relationships have already deteriorated to communicate more clearly, determine if the situation is salvageable, and design a plan for moving forward. Contact us for more information.