Habits of the Best Strategic Partners
Luckily, partnerships that seem magic rarely are. They work thanks to mutual consideration, effort, and communication. If you’re hoping to be the Ben to someone’s Jerry now or in the future, you don’t have to cross your fingers and hope for the best. You can learn from and adopt these habits of the best strategic partners.
They value one another as both humans and friends. (Like Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and Winston Churchill, who collaborated with mutual respect and compassion to help lead the world through World War 2.)
They genuinely share and believe in each other’s visions and dreams. (Like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, a couple whose mutual commitment to advancing civil rights changed the world.)
They help each other learn from (instead of blaming each other for) past mistakes. (Like Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who supported each other through early failures to build the tech giant, Microsoft.)
They work to transform feelings of competition and rivalry into mutual respect. (Like Klaus Kinski and Werner Herzog, who made critically acclaimed films together when they could have turned into resentful rivals.)
They emphasize their complementary areas instead of clashing over their differences. (Like Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, who built Apple into an empire while avoiding dramatic battles and maintaining a down-to-earth friendship.)
They talk about and come to an explicit agreement on core priorities. (Like Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield who grew an ice-cream dream company while never losing track of their ultimate philosophy of charity before profit.)
They communicate openly to build trust and clarity on objectives. (Like tons of companies who have enjoyed the most fruitful strategic partnerships.)