For many people entering into a business partnership, the only agreement they have between them is a handshake and good intentions. They are too busy creating a business plan and brainstorming about the future of their venture to care very much about what might happen to their business relationship in the future. Others are a little more forward thinking and find themselves a generic, legal sounding partnership contract online and print that out and sign it.
The one thing that many new business partners overlook is the importance of discussion and real honest communication before the partnership is officially forged and the necessity of creating a partnership agreement that is tailored specifically to their company and addresses all the issues it needs to.
Creating such an agreement calls for both partners to ask themselves, and each other, a series of rather searching questions and then answer them honestly. What would happen in the future should one partner wish to sell the business? Who is actually responsible for what? How will disputes that arise be mediated?
They should also take the time to examine their differences in values, ethics and personality and how those things could affect the success of the partnership in the future. Of the 70% of business partnerships that are born to fail many of them do so due to differences in opinion and unresolved conflicts rather than an actual problem with the business itself. When drawing up a partnership agreement remember that although you cannot predict the future, you can try to ensure that you plan for the unexpected as completely as you possibly can.
Showing posts with label business partnerships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business partnerships. Show all posts
Monday, March 15, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Collage and the Art of Teambuilding
Every hiring manager, every human resources specialist and in fact every boss will wax lyrical these days about the importance of teamwork in the workplace. Every resume that crosses their desks probably includes a line or two about how well the candidate works within a team as well. But it takes a great deal of work to build a truly successful business team and in many cases it is talked about more than it is actually worked on.
A lack of teamwork – or worse still a team that cannot come together – can sink any business venture, no matter the niche. For instance there may be a great deal of enthusiasm and creativity within a team that could propel the business to a whole new level, but a lack of trust between team members or an inability to communicate with one another effectively means that those brilliant ideas may never see the light of day, let alone be acted upon.
There are hundreds of books, workshops and training courses available on the subject of team building the workplace many of them offering the same advice. In order to make a team really work sometimes though it pays to think outside the box a little and engage the team in an activity, or activities that while they may not seem business related on the surface actually can bring a team together more successfully than anything else.
The art of collage has been around since paper was first invented in China somewhere around 200BC. Cultures from all eras and across the globe have used the technique to express their artistic visions and believe it or not creating a collage can be an exercise in team building that works wonders.
Why does it work? Every team member has a role and can participate. The personal choices that each individual makes as the work is created can reveal much more about their individual thought processes and feelings than a weekly board room meeting ever could and once the collage is finished it also serves as a lasting physical reminder of what the team can achieve when they pool their creative resources.
A lack of teamwork – or worse still a team that cannot come together – can sink any business venture, no matter the niche. For instance there may be a great deal of enthusiasm and creativity within a team that could propel the business to a whole new level, but a lack of trust between team members or an inability to communicate with one another effectively means that those brilliant ideas may never see the light of day, let alone be acted upon.
There are hundreds of books, workshops and training courses available on the subject of team building the workplace many of them offering the same advice. In order to make a team really work sometimes though it pays to think outside the box a little and engage the team in an activity, or activities that while they may not seem business related on the surface actually can bring a team together more successfully than anything else.
The art of collage has been around since paper was first invented in China somewhere around 200BC. Cultures from all eras and across the globe have used the technique to express their artistic visions and believe it or not creating a collage can be an exercise in team building that works wonders.
Why does it work? Every team member has a role and can participate. The personal choices that each individual makes as the work is created can reveal much more about their individual thought processes and feelings than a weekly board room meeting ever could and once the collage is finished it also serves as a lasting physical reminder of what the team can achieve when they pool their creative resources.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Partnership Pitfalls
Imagine this scenario: Two Ivy League college friends barely in their twenties create a website that lights up first their own institution and later the world. They have little in the way of formal business training, just a killer idea and a great deal of drive and vision. One of them goes on to become one of the biggest names in the social media revolution but the other literally has to sue to even be recognized as a cofounder and still receives little in the way of recognition for his contributions.
This is actually a real story- that of the men who created Facebook, the social network that has changed the way people of all ages and from all walks of life communicate. Mark Zuckerberg is the man who is always credited with being the “face behind Facebook” however he had partners in the venture, but bickering and infighting led to one of them – Eduardo Saverin – being frozen out.
According to popular lore the two have finally made a truce and Saverin now officially listed as a founder of the social networking giant. Another rumor is that Mr Zuckerberg had no choice but to make nice with his former friend because Mr Saverin was considering cooperating with a director intending to produce an unflattering movie about the early years of Facebook.
The lesson here is that business partnerships of any kind have to be planned and thought out right from the start. By all accounts in 2004 Mark and Eduardo were the best of friends and as such I am sure that they thought there would never be the kinds of problems between them that occurred, just as it is unlikely that either of them could have imagined how huge their venture would become. They allowed their differences to become public knowledge instead of trying to solve them amicably and the dispute will always be a blight on the company’s history, however successful it may be.
Partnering is powerful because the whole is worth more than the sum of the parts. However, it can also cause problems. Planning and communication may be the solutions.
This is actually a real story- that of the men who created Facebook, the social network that has changed the way people of all ages and from all walks of life communicate. Mark Zuckerberg is the man who is always credited with being the “face behind Facebook” however he had partners in the venture, but bickering and infighting led to one of them – Eduardo Saverin – being frozen out.
According to popular lore the two have finally made a truce and Saverin now officially listed as a founder of the social networking giant. Another rumor is that Mr Zuckerberg had no choice but to make nice with his former friend because Mr Saverin was considering cooperating with a director intending to produce an unflattering movie about the early years of Facebook.
The lesson here is that business partnerships of any kind have to be planned and thought out right from the start. By all accounts in 2004 Mark and Eduardo were the best of friends and as such I am sure that they thought there would never be the kinds of problems between them that occurred, just as it is unlikely that either of them could have imagined how huge their venture would become. They allowed their differences to become public knowledge instead of trying to solve them amicably and the dispute will always be a blight on the company’s history, however successful it may be.
Partnering is powerful because the whole is worth more than the sum of the parts. However, it can also cause problems. Planning and communication may be the solutions.
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