The Foundation of a Successful Partnership
Many of our coaching clients at E-Myth are in business with partners. They are husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, people who've been best friends since nursery school or simply associates who went into business because they happened to have their entrepreneurial seizure together.
In my coaching experience, a successful partnership boils down to two things: communication and structure. You must practice regular, open, non-assumptive, listening-based communication in order to have a foundation of respect and collaboration. Equally important is creating sufficient structure so that the partners (and everybody else in the company) understand their roles.
Makes sense, right? Intellectually, yes it does. But it's not always easy to put into practice. Let's explore these ideas in a little more detail.
How Are You?
For business partners, few more important words exist, than "How are you doing, partner?"
Why? Because your success lies in staying aligned and not falling into the non-communicative trap that creates so much partnership difficulty. Communication is one of the essential leadership skills as practiced at E-Myth, and it's also one of the biggest obstacles for business partners.
Oh yes, you probably talk to your partner. You might even feel as though you talk to them too much. But that doesn't necessarily mean you're communicating. True communication involves active listening; it's about being open and non-assumptive. It's essential that you hear your partner and understand his/her point of view on the business.
As partners, you should meet regularly with a clear agenda and defined objectives. If you have a board of directors, you can include them. Either way, coming together with the purpose of discussing vision, strategy and plans from the ownership perspective creates trust and unity. It's a time to have deep discussions and sometimes confrontation in a safe environment, without the rest of the team present. You emerge with a clear set of shared goals, values and direction for the company. This ownership meeting is a place to practice authentic regard for your partner and acknowledge each other's contribution. Partners need validation and appreciation, just like employees, and the best way to receive it is to give it to each other.
Remember, as the leaders of your business, you're setting the tone for the culture of your organization. Both of you. The E-Myth Point of View is clear on this: the business is a reflection of the owner-leaders. Partners have to understand that their partner relationship creates a mighty big reflection, and the more you come together and present a united leadership vision and strategy, the more the company will reflect that cohesion and certainty.
Structure, Structure, Structure
Next to lack of communication, lack of structure is the second biggest obstacle facing business partners. Take for instance, Bobby and Kathy who are married and together have owned an IT consulting firm for about five years. During a conversation about leadership, I told them that they could expect their business to improve in direct proportion to how they improved their working relationship.
It was then that Kathy turned serious and said, "He's not willing to change, that's the real problem."
"Might be true," Bobby replied. "But if I knew what we needed to change and it wasn't too painful, I'd do it. Sure. Especially if it gets better results with the team."
"It's really quite simple in concept," I said, "but you have to be committed to putting it into practice."
"If it will help get us on the same page and find a better way to be in the business together; then I'm in," Bobby said.
"Great," I replied. "All you have to do is structure a regular venue to communicate as owners out of the business; then define your roles in the organizational structure so that you know who does what and who reports to whom."
And that's when it fell silent. I could almost see their eyebrows go up and their heads tilt a little. The last bit always causes that reaction. It was Kathy who broke the silence by asking, with a noticeable tremor in her voice, "You mean we have to decide which of us manages the other?"
I explained to them, as I've done with so many clients, that "owner" is not a position in an organization. Sure, you can get by with calling yourself that with your first or second employee, but as you grow -- and particularly when you have a partner -- getting organization and ownership clarity is critical. When you've defined responsibilities, each of you is freed to excel with purpose and direction.
Co-CEO is a No-No
Here's a cold hard truth about partnerships: you can't both be CEO.
Well, OK, it's possible – there's always an exception to the rule – but we don't recommend it. It seldom works and you can avoid a lot of difficulty by accepting it. Someone has to take on the chief leadership role and the other partner or partners need to report to them to replicate the proper structure.
Recently, I called a client, Jim, who had participated in the Mastery program a couple years back. When Jim and his partner, Bill, were coaching clients, I did everything I could to convince them that equality on the organization chart was fraught with difficulties. But they didn't give in. They'd been friends since childhood, and one wasn't about to report to the other in the organization. This led to a lot of internal confusion and they encountered constant problems with staff not being certain which of the two were in charge.
I'm proud to report though, that Jim told me that about six months ago they'd decided that Bill would be the CEO and Jim was now reporting to Bill.
"I know, I know, we've said more than a few times that we should've listened to you and made this shift sooner," he told me. "Everything is so much better! We meet once a month as owners and partners with our board; but now everybody knows Bill is the main leader and I don't mind reporting to him because it has made everything so much clearer. We both sleep easier at night, I'm sure of it."
Being in a business partnership presents challenges, especially when you add the emotional aspects of a family or friend relationship.
But if you share similar values and vision, if you meet regularly as owners, create a united leadership and have clarity and agreement in your organizational structure, you'll have a very strong foundation from which to grow your business.
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