When two creative and ambitious minds share a workspace or embark on a new venture, differences and conflicts are bound to occur. Larry Page and Sergey Brin brought Google into existence in 1998, but the two partners initially couldn’t see eye to eye. Far from being friends, they bickered most of the time until they had to work on a research project together. That’s when they found a common ground.
If you are a budding entrepreneur then you need to understand that apart from great ideas you need to have a good relationship with your partner to make your business flourish. Here are some ways to achieve that:
Tips for Being A Successful Enterpreneur
#1. Open-Dialogue
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Even though conflicts are inevitable, an open-dialogue system lessens the impact. The partnership is nothing short of a marriage and if you do not speak your mind over trivial issues, they are bound to escalate over time. Open discussions on issues, concepts, and ideas are not only going to help your business relationship grow but give you a better idea of how your partner's mind works. It would eliminate the possibilities of trust issues cropping up as well.
#2. Learn To Negotiate
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My way or highway is not the motto on which a business runs when two decision-makers are involved. A business partnership is strengthened by listening and understanding the perspective of the other person as well. Being stubborn is a common quality in every entrepreneur but in order to reach a decision, it is necessary you listen to your partner and pay heed what he or she is saying. It is important to understand the importance of negotiation in order to keep a business partnership healthy.
#3. Get To Know Your Partner
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Yes, you both are a part of the same business venture and work together but how well do you really know your partner? Do you have any common grounds or similar interests? In case you are wondering why this is important then you need to know that such a long partnership cannot purely be based on work. It is important to understand your partner in order to uncover their interests and help you to get on the same page while discussing business ideas.
#4. Never Avoid Conflict
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Might sound like an ironical statement, but sometimes conflict is necessary and the situation gets worse when partners start to avoid each other in order to avoid conflict. This is also why the above point about spending time together over other interest is important. Great business requires co-founders that work seamlessly together and such a relationship is nurtured over time. Not talking to your partner and not being forthcoming with ideas just to avoid any chance of conflict can have really bad repercussion on the business. Founders who keep their interactions to a bare minimum and only prefer discussion when it is utmost necessary can really rule out the chances of establishing a good efficient business relationship.
#5. Do Not Let Success Get In Your Way
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A lot of co-founders start from the scratch and eventually with their vision and hard work they climb the ladder of success. Sometimes this success hides a lot of issues that don’t crop up in the thrill of moving forward. When things are looking good, everyone is in a good state of mind and is too occupied with keeping the business running well to disagree about anything. But the real test takes place when things start to go downhill or business hits a rough patch. Such situations create a lot of discord and differences and in order to save both your partnership and business, it is important to remember that the relationship exists for deeper reasons than purely functional ones. Get professional help if necessary but don’t let success or failure define your business partnership.
Do you think that conflicts between partners can be resolved or contained by using the above techniques or do you feel differently? Do let us know your thoughts by commenting in the box below.
(Feature Image Courtesy: Think Advisor )
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