As you probably already know, the wrong partnership – professional or personal – can be far worse than no partnership. And a winning partnership can be worth its weight in gold. Sometimes however, fear can keep us from seeking out good partners and forming winning partnerships. Many people worry that they will have to share the profits, decision-making authority, and/or prestige that come with a project or business. A fearful attitude, of course, won’t allow us to do this. As always, it is a good idea to overcome this fear so that you will know whether forming a winning partnership is in your best interest.

There are a few important points to consider when deciding if a partnership is right for you. If the members of a partnership do essentially the same thing, it’s almost inevitable that one will be harder working and have more commitment than the other. Often, that partner begins to resent the other partner’s pushing. It’s generally not a winning partnership. For example, two trial attorneys go into a legal partnership. At the end of the year, one or the other might wonder what benefit he received from the partnership. After all, each is fully capable of doing the other’s job. But, if a trial attorney and a corporate attorney go into partnership, usually each one, at the end of the year says, “Thank God for my partner – I don’t know what I would do without her.”

Ideally, each partner brings to the table different skills and attributes. One might be excellent at details and planning, the other in promotion and public speaking. Or one might be excellent in sales, the other in marketing. A good partnership is like a good marriage – it has to be formed carefully. If you can create the right combination of skills, work ethic, and vision you can create a winning team.

Here’s a classic example of a winning partnership. Alan and George each had poor financial years the past few years. Alan is a superb real estate deal maker and has an artistic flair. Although he could negotiate to purchase building lots and negotiate to sell, he did not have any serious product or any true expertise in building custom homes. George is a superior tradesman and building contractor, but he as been working only about half time. He didn’t have the foresight to locate great building sites or the courage to be a tough negotiator. They formed a partnership. Right from the start, their partnership was a match made in heaven. In their very first year of working together, they each had their most successful year ever. It’s true that they had to split their profits, but their combination of skills quadrupled their ability to produce. The key is that the partnership does something that neither could do by themselves. Now, George is busy full time building custom homes, the thing he does best. Alan is busy negotiating to purchase lots for future building, working on design, subcontracting, and negotiating material pricing. Although it sounds unbelievable, the partnership is able to complete a beautiful custom home, start to finish, in a matter of months. This is a winning partnership.

You may be the most talented person on earth, but until you hook up with a good partner, you may never truly unleash that talent. Rather than spending your energy trying to do everything, you and your new partner can each focus on what she or he does best.

Let Kolikoff & Company be your partner in Sales, Marketing and Business Development. For more go to www.kolikoff.com or call 623-455-6155