11 Keys to Building Strong Partnerships

Have you ever gone on a vacation with someone who is very different from you? One wants to experience everything under the sun while the other wants to just chill out. One wants to plan the day down to the minute while the other likes to figure out what to do as the day goes by. One wants to go left, the other right. One wants window down and put the peddle to the metal while the other likes the windows up and keeps tapping the break peddle. Now just imagine, being in partnership with this person who has very different preferences. What would that be like?

I am sure you get the picture.

Therefore, in choosing your business partner(s) it's crucial to, for both long-term success and to having an enjoyable experience, here are 11 key factors of consider:

1. Shared Vision. Metaphorically speaking, what will happen if one wants to go to California while the other Florida? One envisions a chain of big box stores while the other a small boutique? It's important to share common definition of success, your desired destination, what you want to sell, and to whom. Otherwise, it'll be a constant push-n-pull, tug-of-war.

2. Shared Values. Do you share values that will guide you in your decision making, in your day to day activities? For example, how will you function say if one views employees as those who can be easily hired and fired at will while you view them as family? One has no problem taking on debt while you are terrified by it?

3. Shared Work Ethic. Will you both put in your best efforts or is one a slacker while the other carries the load?

4. Shared Base Strategy. Of the 4 types, do you both share where you want to be ultimately?

• Small Fish, Small Pond
  
• Small Fish, Big Pond
  
• Big Fish, Small Pond
  
• Big Fish, Big Pond

Similar to example given in #1 above, what will happen if one wants to build a business say selling commodities in high volume low margins and the other wants to pursue a strategy of a specialty selling low volume high margins?

5. Aligned in what you lead with. What happens say if one wants to be the low cost supplier while the one wants to be known for outstanding quality, customer service and charge high prices?

• Innovation, Cutting Edge
  
• Customer Service
  
• Quality, Tried and True
  
• Low Price Seller

For example, what will happen if one wants to be known for high quality, outstanding service while the other wants to sell on price and quality isn't as important?

6. Leveraging Strengths. Here, differences are actually healthy. If say one is outgoing, aggressive and quick to act, it's important to have someone who is reflective, more thoughtful and reserved. Or one is more task focused, it's important to have the other be most people focused. It's the Ying and Yang, left brain and right brain. Both are needed.

7. Complimentary Skills. Overall, to run a successful business, skills in administration (e.g, HR, IT, Accounting), Sales/Marketing, and Operations are needed. Do the partners bring a mix of skill sets? Here again, you need to ensure everyone brings something to the mix so all bases are covered. You want someone who will fill in for your weaknesses and you do the same for the other. No one is good at everything. It takes all types to make business work.

8. Do you enjoy being together. In business, you will spend lots of time together and therefore it's very important you enjoy each others company, and have the ability to have open honest conversations, no matter how tough the issues.

9. Commitment: There will be good times, there will be rough times. Are all of you committed to the partnership, to see it through, no matter what you all face. One for all, all for one.

10. Personal Responsibility: When something goes wrong, will you play the blame game or are you strong enough to also look within and see how you contribute to the situation. This was a lesson for me. It took me a long time to accept that in my own partnership coming apart, I too had a huge role. Until we are willing to looking within ourselves also, we'll play the victim game and that doesn't contribute to healthy partnerships.

11. Trust & Respect: Last but not least, do you trust and respect each other. You want someone on whom you can count on, completely trust, someone who has your back covered as you have theirs, someone you respect. All successful lasting relationships are built on foundation of trust and mutual respect.

Having said all this, I want to stress that there is no one right or wrong, better or worse. There is a place for everyone. Important thing in partnerships is that there be alignment. If it's missing, your partnership is destined to difficulties. Therefore, when choosing your business partner(s), be sure to pay critical attention to these factors.

Also, as a final word for now, it's important to note that it's unlikely to ever find a perfect match. We are humans afterall and we each have our uniqueness's. What's important is to be aware of where you align, where you don't, and to work through those differences, and to recognize that there is always some benefits in those differences.

What Leads to Partnerships Breaking Up?

Do you know couples, siblings, friends who went into business together with great hopes and excitement but now they are constantly going at each other? Being in business together can tear apart not only relationships, but also their business.

Same happens in corporations where executives aren't aligned, each member rowing in a different direction, following his/her own agenda, leaving others confused and drained.

Do you ever wonder what's the cause? And more importantly, how can this be prevented, for there is tremendous power in partnerships, when leadership teams are aligned, all rowing together in the same direction?

To use a metaphor, effective partnerships are like the hand. When five digits work together, they are exponentially more powerful then the sum of each individual digit. As my uncle says, when it comes to partnerships, 1 + 1 = 11.

After many years of reflection, observation, and self-study, I believe I finally have the answers to the questions I raise above, which I will share with you here.

First, what leads to the breaking.

Loss of Collective Vision: Everything in life, manifested by humans, originates in thought and those thoughts are ever changing. At some point in time, thoughts of two or more individuals come together and partnership is formed. Overtime, however, thoughts change, they shift, resulting in partners slowly drifting apart. And due to lack of effective on-going communication, either due to being so caught up in day to day operations or more likely that in many cases hey don't know how to have such conversations, the impact of such drifting apart does not surface, 'till it's too late, leaving everyone asking "what happened?". Or their is constant fighting and those observing watch helplessly wanting to help but not sure what to do.

Lack of Human Understanding: Human beings are complex beings with ever changing thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and motivations. In the absence of such understanding, what ultimately happens to the unaware, these small differences end up driving a big wedge into the relationships. Friction takes place, communication breaks down, moles become mountains. Rather then understanding and leveraging differences for greater individual and joint success, they are often misinterpreted (intention vs. impact), only leading to further divisions.

So, what's the solution?

I have come to believe the solution resides in two actions, both of which must take on an on-going basis. They are:

Executive Alignment: Just as tires need realignment from time to time, so do executive teams. In the executive suite, this is done via regularly schedule meetings that must be facilitated by someone from the outside, who is neutral and objective, has nothing to gain or loose. Goal in these meetings is to have both strategic conversations as well as cover other materials to ensure everyone stays on the same page so that everyone continues to row together in the same direction.

Executive Tune Up: Via use of personality assessments, which provide deep insights into each individual's strengths and blind spots, in an objective and neutral way, understanding and therefore communication improves, misunderstanding begin to get flushed out, leading to less friction and greater performance. When these assessment results are presented by an expert who is an outsider, these "debriefings" of results lead to powerful conversations, partners come to better and more effectively understand of each other, as well as understand how to leverage each others differences for greater joint success.

Net result being acceleration of business performance AND strengthening of the partnership. It's one of the best investment any partnership and executive leadership team can make, to ensure long-term success and enjoy the many benefits partnerships offer.

What's Possible When Everyone Shares a Collective Vision?

How in sync is your team? Is everyone moving together smoothly in the same direction? Or does it feel more like a constant tug-of-war, push-n-pull, each tripping over the other? Do you experience conflicting goals, conflicting agendas, constantly changing priorities, flavors of the day, feeling stretched and confused?

In my experience, businesses, specially business partners and families who are in business together, they start off with a fairly a clear focus, direction and desired outcome. As times goes on however, individuals begin to drift apart. Each focusing on their own thing, they are busy and less and less communication. In the absence of on-going communications about vision, desired outcomes, planning, etc. misunderstandings, friction, breakdowns, inefficiencies begin to take place, all negatively impacting overall performance.

If you like to find out what the situation is in your organization, here's a simple test. Results will show you how well aligned is your team, to what degree they share a collective vision, and if they are all working towards the same desired outcome.

Have one person, preferably someone from the outside who is neutral and objective, and someone who has nothing to gain or loose by the findings, start interviewing, individually, key members of your team. Have this person, who should be good in asking questions, listening and probing, ask each interviewee the following 7 questions:

1. What business is your company in and why does it exist (purpose)?
2. What does your company sell?
3. Who are your target customers?
4. Who are your top 10 clients?
5. Why do they do business with your company?
6. What do your clients most appreciate about doing business with your company?
7. How is success defined and measured at your company?

Of course, before diving into these questions listed above, the interviewer will have to first set the stage as well as warm up the conversation by asking couple of other questions, to get the conversation flowing and putting the interviewee at ease.

When asking these 7 questions, go in depth. For example, for the question "who are your target customers?" don't just accept for example, our customers are associations. Probe and dig deeper. Never settle for the first response. Ask each interviewee to share for example, what does the "optimum" customer "look" like, e.g. approximate age, gender, title, size and type of organization, location, and so on.

As a suggestion, start these interviews first with your leadership team. Often misalignment starts right there. If you find they aren't aligned, then what do you think are the chances rest of your team members being aligned and moving in the same direction? And if they aren't, what impact is that having on the organization? Then imagine, if they were all aligned and shared a collective vision, working together towards the same destination, what would be possible?

Go ahead, give this simple yet powerful exercise a try and see what you find out. I can guarantee you'll be glad to have done this.

Path to Success

One of the leading causes of business failure, or any kind of undertaking for that matter, is lack of proper planning. Yet too often I run into people who spend more time planning their weekend outing then their business, all the while wondering why they aren't achieving the success they desire.

In my own life, I have experienced both success and failure. Looking back, whenever I have been successful, in each instance, I have had a clear and focused plan. When I didn't take the time to plan, it was disastrous. Therefore I am more convinced then ever in the value of planning, and in business, strategic business planning.

Having said this, I think most people make planning way too complicated then it has to be. For great many businesses, especially for the smaller ones, setting aside say 10 or so hours, answering some key questions alone will provide a meaningful road map for success. Some of these key questions include:

DESTINATION: What does your desired destination (success) look like? How will you, and those on your team, know when that destination has been reached?

PURPOSE: Why do you want to get there? What will it give you? And what will happen if you don't get there? As in any journey, if your purpose is unclear, and/or desire weak, you are likely to turn back when you hit roadblocks. Therefore, before starting your journey, be clear why you're wanting to go there and ensure it's something you really want.

HOW: What "road" will you take to reach your desired destination? What do you need to get done, day by day, week by week, month by month? For businesses, break down what needs to get done in the three key areas: administration, operations, and sales & marketing. Who will do what by when and how?

SIGNPOSTS: How will you know you're on track, individually and collectively? What measures will serve as "mile markers" and "sign posts"?

OBSTACLES: As in any journey, it's not always smooth sailing. Sometimes you hit road blocks, you get a flat tire. When that happens, will you know what to do?

OPPORTUNITIES: Sometimes along the way, you may run into pleasant surprises that will help you get to your destination quicker, such as you discover a short cut. How will you recognize these opportunities when you see them?

If you don't have a plan in place, I urge you to take some time, and prepare one. It's not rocket science. Answering some key basic questions as presented above alone will get you well on your way.

But don't be fooled by the simplicity of the questions. While the questions are easy, to arrive at meaningful answers requires deep reflection and thought. As you do that, you'll be amazed by the benefits you'll experience with the associated and focus that emerges in the process. And if you have multiple partners in the business, this then is even more important. Without it, it'll be like driving a car without proper tire alignment, with each tire moving in a different direction.

It really is so that "Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance".

15 Essential Questions To Achieve Success in Selling

While there are many factors, I have found that much of the long-term success in selling is due more to consistently and persistently following a sales process, a system, and establishing a reputation of being an expert, a trusted advisor to the clients and the marketplace, rather then having any "magic bullets".

In addition, in my experience, much of that sales success begins with having clear answers to some key questions. Some of those are:

1. What do sell? Think not just in-terms of your products and service (tangibles) but also what the perceived value is to your clients (intangibles). Ask yourself, what business are you really in.

2. How strongly do you believe in what you are selling? In other words, would you say sell it to your mother?

3. How does selling what you're selling and for whom you're selling help you live the life you want to live?

4. Who do you want sell to?

5. Where will you find those you want to sell to?

6. How will you get your message to them, of what you have to offer and the associated value? For example, where will you speak? network? How will you reply to the commonly asked question, what do you do?

7. Why should they buy your products/services, and why should they buy from you?

8. How will you get your first meeting?

9. What questions will you ask and what will you say in your first meeting to move the conversation forward?

10. If/when they don't buy from you right away, which is quite often the case specially in B2B sales, how will you stay in touch, maintaining top of mind awareness and building the relationships?

11. How will you get them to try you?

12. Once they do buy, how will you serve them, engage them, move the relationship forward, so they buy from you again?

13. When something goes wrong, which invariably will at one point or another, how will you handle it?

14. How will you ask them to refer you to others?

15. Last but not least, have clarity on what success looks like, how you will know if you're on track as you do the necessary day-to-day work, and how you will know when you have achieved it?

What has lead to your success in selling? What's your best sales tip?

Who Do You Trust?

• Would you let a doctor operate on you if you didn't trust him?

• Would you eat at a restaurant if you didn't trust the food to be safe and clean?

• Would you invest your hard earned money in a financial institution that you didn't trust?

In the Washington Post recently, there was an article entitled "Soldier Dies, Insurer Profits". It shared how some major insurance companies mislead (not fully & correctly disclosing key pieces of information) insurers and their beneficiaries.

As I had significant amounts of money (for me anyways) in one of these financial institutions mentioned, reading the article shook my faith and confidence in the institution and I immediately pulled out my funds. Logically, I am sure they were safe and sound but deep inside of me, in essence, regardless of all logic, I simply lost trust in the institution. I can't help but wonder how many others felt the same and took similar steps.

I then further realized how strong a factor trust is in in our lives, not only personally but also professionally and for our enterprises. Without trust, we have nothing. When it really comes down to it, all meaningful and lasting relationships are built on trust. When trust is strong, everyone wins and grows. When it breaks down, eventually everything breaks down cause all successful relationships and enterprises are built on the foundation of trust.

So, how does one go about building trust? After much reflection, I come up with several key elements that provide the foundation to building trust. Here they are:

1. Communication & Accountability: Do you communicate clearly, authentically, honestly, fully, and consistently? Do you hold yourself accountable, doing what you say you're going to do? Do you keep your words?

2. Understanding Each Other: I find that many of us do not truly understand human behavior, and therefore each other. For example, if someone say is being "aggressive", in the absence of proper understanding, such folks are frequently labeled as being pushy, a jerk rather then for the true gift they offer. It's often a question of intention vs. impact, fact vs. judgment. As an aside, it is this lack of understanding that often leads to misunderstandings and leads to disengagement which in turn has significant negative impacts on our enterprises and our various relationships, personal and professional.

3. Walk and Talk Alignment. Are your words, deeds, decisions, behaviors & actions aligned?

4. Systems & Processes: Do you have systems and processes in place that provide forums actively seeking open & honest feedback? And when feedback is provided, do you do something with it as well as communicate with those who provided the feedback that you heard them and took appropriate actions?

In the end, trust is built by the little things, such as the the words you speak, your behavior, your actions, your body language, your tone. And when we have trust, organizationally speaking, as the graphic above depicts, it leads authentic conversations, stronger relationships, genuine engagement rather then just going through the motions, some risk taking in the spirit of innovation, real caring service and all that ultimately leads to on-going renewal and growth. Everyone wins.

For those you trust, what is it about them that leads you to trust them?

How The Mighty Fall?

Jim Collins in his recent book "How The Mighty Fall" presents the five step-wise stages of decline. They are:

1. Hubris Born of Success
2. Undisciplined Pursuit of More
3. Denial of Risk and Peril
4. Grasping for Salvation
5. Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death

While this may apply to specific organizations, what I have been reflecting on is how does an entire industry fall? What keeps them from reinventing themselves? Does the answer lie in how they define their business and the unit of measure they use to measure success? Please allow me to elaborate.

For example, thinking of the music industry, in connection to the graph above, here's what comes in my thoughts:

WHY: To record and distribute music
WHO: Target markets for various types of music
HOW: Sign-on artists with various labels
WHAT: To distribute music via various mediums. Initially the record, then tapes, CDs and now electronic distribution.
IMPACT: Enjoyment by music by many while achieving business success

So where did they go off-course? The more I reflect on it, the more I believe it's in how they defined their businesses. For example, we use to hear terms like: record stores, which record label did a musician sign with, how many records sold, and so on. And profits were tied to number of records sold and therefore infrastructures were developed to sign on popular artists with the express purpose of selling more and more records. Thus the measure of success was number of records sold.

In other words, they were in the record business and success & profitability was defined and measures by how many records were sold (and later tapes and CDs). Then came in MP3 players and as they say, rest is history.

I wonder how would they have functioned and where they would be today if they had defined themselves as more as being in the music business and measured success by number of songs sold, rather then being defined by the medium through which music was recorded and distributed?

What are your thoughts? What business are you in? How do you define and measure success for your organization?