"Growing Your People Monthly" Newsletter

May 2010

In last month's newsletter we discussed the value of assessment tools in the hiring process, and these tools can be just as valuable in setting up a successful business partnership. Read on to learn about how the right roadmap can make your business partnership as successful as possible!

Be well,

Yvonne Kinney-Hockert
National Speaker, Business Consultant & Coach
Consulting Solutions, LLC.

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What's Your Roadmap to a Successful Business Partnership?

A friendship founded on business is a good deal better than a business founded on friendship. John D. Rockefeller

Partnerships generally form in two ways: two people decide to join forces on a shared ambition, or a business owner seeks out someone to share the challenges of running or growing an already existing business. In both cases, it is important to approach the process even more carefully than when hiring top management. In last month's newsletter we talked about the importance of using an assessment tool, such as the Winslow Assessment, as part of the hiring and selection process along with the resume, interviews and references, to identify how well the candidate will fit with your culture and needs. These assessment tools work equally as well for partnership planning, whether for a new partnership or a more mature one that is undergoing any kind of modification.

Dorene Lehavi, owner of Next Level Business and Professional Coaching in Los Angeles, says that about 70% of business partnerships fail. "The parties' initial enthusiasm wanes as personality clashes and strategic differences set in." She notes that people can work on a great business plan together and conduct plenty of market research, but if they "ignore the relationship - the people involved and their needs - [they] can wind up in a troubled partnership." Tools like the Winslow Assessment identify behavioral traits that create dissatisfaction after the honeymoon period of a new partnership is over.

Just as with self-assessment, it is important to understand similarities and differences in partner strengths and weaknesses, and how this will relate to individual roles within the partnership. For example, each partner might approach decisions about financing differently or have a different perspective about who is doing most of the work and even about the level of responsibility each plays in growing the business.

For example, two weaknesses can be an even larger weakness. If both partners enjoy the process of design and idea generation, but lack self-discipline, there will be a lack of accountability. Assessments will also identify strengths that need to be balanced by other strengths. For example, if both partners are very focused on rules and regulations, they may neglect the need for innovation. This information will help identify any gaps that need to be filled by an expanded leadership team or outside counsel or consultants.

Assessments can also identify important match-ups such as the need for a detail-oriented person to work with someone who thinks about the big picture. Another important and often overlooked trait is that of endurance - if both partners are strong in this trait, they may be so intent on working on something until it becomes profitable or successful, they may not know when to "pull the plug" and move onto something else. On the flip side, if both partners are mainly excited about new ideas and innovation, there may not be anyone to keep projects on task and see them through to completion.

Finally, assessment information will in turn lead to important conversations about perspectives, goals, vision, and commitment. Perhaps one partner has the goal of building a business to pass along to a second generation, while the other partner wants to build the business and sell within five years.

As Winston Churchill wisely noted, "If we are together, nothing is impossible. If we are divided, all will fail." Tools like the Winslow Assessment help create opportunities for foundational conversations that are helpful across all stages of business, from inception to sale.

Your Call To Action. . .