Stats show that a majority of business partnerships fail.
It's important to get the partnership on the same page on the things that matter.
The following are my plumbing partnership's guiding principles:
First, Do No Harm.
This is currently a profitable operation that we must be careful not to de-rail. In the early weeks and months, observe and take notes. The time for implementation of change is not Day 1.
No Assholes.
We're a small team and have the ability to shape - for better or worse - the environment in which we are going to work. Differences of opinion will naturally occur, but they must be handled with maturity and with the understanding that we're all on the same team.
It's Not About Us.
Decisions must be made in the company's best interest. If the company is healthy, the partners will be well taken care of. The opposite is not necessarily true. Capital allocation decisions will be made with this in mind. We will not be vampires.
Build Lean Mass.
The focus of our growth and investment should be on our muscle: our call volume, the plumbers, and our capacity for more jobs. We will look to trim fat where possible, focused on the back-end of the business.
Some goals I had with these:
High-level.
Easy to remember ("bumper stickers").
Difficult to disagree with.
Impactful to decision-making.
My opinion:
Don't make your principles things like "Accountability, Integrity, Commitment."
What's that even mean? How will that influence decisions?
Maybe those are important to you. Work to re-phrase them.
My buddy (USMC Instructor) was about to make this mistake with his student platoon last year. He wanted them to take ownership of their training and education during the course.
His initial principle: "Accountability"
We changed it to: "Be an Owner"
Much more impactful.
h/t to two influences:
@BrentBeshore will recognize the 1st two principles. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?
I was compelled to write these back in June after listening to @sweatystartup's podcast series on partnerships. Great episodes.
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