Deborah Krevalin | Business Coach
When it comes to social connection, it’s not unusual for us to enter into what we might think of as ‘relationships of convenience’. We meet our friends through school or work. We meet lovers, partners and potential spouses through our friends. We make extended connections through those partnerships and their own network of friends and interests.
Business partnerships do, in fact, share this same random potential, but, if we want them to work frictionlessly over time, they need to be more strategic. So, while the parameters of a social relationships, while often cooperative, may be more casual—city versus suburbs, townhouse versus single home, one car versus two—business partnership need to be more planful and intentional.
One of the most effective ways to create this level of frictionless cooperation is by establishing one of the key elements in strategic planning—shared vision and mission. If these two elements are clear to both—or all—partners and reviewed on a regular basis, everyone is clear on where they stand within the context of the partnership and, consequently, what their role is.
If we break this idea down, mission is ‘where you’re going’ and vision is ‘how you get there’. For instance, Steve Jobs did not set out to create innovative tech—his shared mission was to ‘change the world’, which he clearly did. Through cooperative, albeit sometimes contentious, partnership, Jonathan Ive realized that mission through his personally established and cooperatively applied vision.
The iPhone that rarely leaves your hand and is a constant in your life, is the result of a strategic partnership realizing an establishing vision and mission that worked out its frictions through cooperation and shared goals.
My role, as a business partnership consultant, is to get you and your partner or partners, into this same space, so you can create the most effective work environment for you and your people, while continuing to grow your bottom line.
Make no mistake, my job is not to play nice, it’s to help you to learn to play nice, so you can create the best version of, not only your company, but yourself within that context. My approach will include an assessment of what everyone—whether it’s two of you or twelve of you—brings to the table, what works and what doesn’t, as well as working with you to develop a clear strategic plan—even if you believe you have one in place.
With that in mind, I’d be happy to consult with you on how we can work together to level-up your internal business relationships, create a cooperative environment for you and your partner or partners, and move you forward both personally and professionally.