{"id":106440,"date":"2022-12-23t11:59:50","date_gmt":"2022-12-23t16:59:50","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/?p=106440"},"modified":"2024-08-07t23:10:02","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08t03:10:02","slug":"the-seven-building-blocks-of-a-great-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2022\/12\/23\/the-seven-building-blocks-of-a-great-partnership\/","title":{"rendered":"the seven building blocks of a great partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>maybe you can name them. can you live them?<\/strong><\/p>\n by august j. aquila<\/i> great partnerships are like great love affairs. there needs to be chemistry.<\/p>\n exclusively for pro members. <\/span><\/strong>log in here<\/a> or 2022世界杯足球排名 today<\/a>.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n after more than 36 years of consulting with large and small professional services firms, i\u2019ve seen all sorts of chemistry. some partnerships were almost toxic, most were tolerable and a few were really great. let me share with you my observations about great partnerships and how they got that way. so, what makes a great partnership? it has been my experience that the following seven characteristics form the foundation of a great partnership. if you are missing any of them or if you merely need to improve in some areas, now is the time to start strengthening your firm\u2019s foundation.<\/p>\n partnerships have to start with trust. without it there can never be a productive and efficient partnership or solid relationship. you ask, how do we know if we have a culture of trust? is there a way to measure it?<\/p>\n you can see trust or lack thereof in a firm. for example, if management has to micromanage that is usually an indication of low trust. if there are a lot of hallway or closed-door conversations by the partners, that usually indicates a low level of trust. the first thing you need to do is simply observe partner behavior in the firm.<\/p>\n there are also surveys that measure the amount of trust in\u00a0 a firm. these give you a better idea of specific areas that you need to address.<\/p>\n individuals earn trust through their behavior. if a leader is not transparent or has a hidden agenda, these characteristics will count against his trust account. the same holds true for partners. if partners do not do what they say they are going to do, then they lose trust in the eyes of the other partners, employees and firm leadership. patrick lencioni places \u201clack of trust\u201d at the base of all team problems in his book \u201cthe five dysfunctions of a team.\u201d without trust there can be no productive conflict, commitment or accountability.<\/p>\n the second building block for a successful partnership is having shared values. it does not mean that partners are clones of one another, but partners agree upon the firm\u2019s shared values, on how they are going to treat each other, the clients and the employees. shared values are what bring a group of individuals together to achieve something that they could not achieve individually.<\/p>\n the concept of core or shared values gets a lot of press and most professional service firms\u2019 websites promote their core values to prospects, clients and recruits. but, like so many management ideas that are on the soft side, shared values are often more talk than reality. for too many firms, their espoused core values don\u2019t actually represent what the firm stands for and don\u2019t guide individual behavior. often, in fact, neither the partners nor the employees know the firm\u2019s core values and no one in the firm is evaluated or rewarded on how well they live them. in short, there is no execution.<\/p>\n in 1962, thomas j. watson, jr., the then-president of ibm, was invited to share a bit of how the company\u2019s success was achieved. his comments were later turned into a short book called \u201ca business and its beliefs \u2013 the ideas that helped build ibm.\u201d watson illustrates one of ibm\u2019s values by telling a story from his father\u2019s early career. the elder watson went out on weeks of sales calls and came back empty-handed. he had to tell the boss that he had nothing to show for his work. the boss, of course, wasn\u2019t happy, but he then volunteered to go on the road with watson the next week. at least, if they fail, the boss said, they will have failed together.<\/p>\n that is the kind of lesson that leaves a lasting impression on people. shared values do count!<\/p>\n watson went on to explain in his lectures that executives who hoped to see their company endure had to be prepared to change just about everything \u2013 except core principles that were important in building the company in the first place.<\/p>\n the more a firm lacks shared values, the more dysfunctional it becomes because people in the firm do not behave in a common and consistent manner. if you want to strengthen your partnership, here is what you need to do:<\/p>\n here\u2019s an example of what i mean.<\/p>\n respect\/teamwork<\/strong><\/p>\n what does this mean?<\/em><\/p>\n teamwork \u2013 members share common goals and responsibilities. we help team members no matter what level. teamwork is providing overall assistance, when asked or needed, to reach the team\u2019s goal. teamwork is helping each other to be successful.<\/p>\n respect \u2013 showing politeness and courtesy to the individual and appreciation of them, highly regarding the work and opinions of others, and respecting decisions and each other.<\/p>\n why is it important?<\/em><\/p>\n the impact of modeling respect and teamwork on the firm is that clients will notice that the team is working together and client work will be more accurate and done more efficiently.<\/p>\n great things can be accomplished if these two values can work hand in hand. this firm would be a better place if we had consistency, fairness, and we were all respected no matter what level.<\/p>\n here are the key behaviors:<\/em>
\nwhat makes a great partnership<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n
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\nmany new firms, and some longtime firms, unfortunately don\u2019t give a lot of thought to \u201cwhat makes a great partnership?\u201d their main concern is survival. but the sooner a firm starts focusing on what makes it a great partnership, the better off it will be. think about this for a moment. if you don\u2019t address this critical question, how will you know …<\/p>\n\n
1. trust<\/h3>\n
2. shared values<\/h3>\n
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\n<\/em><\/p>\n