Looking for Mr./Ms. Right?
I want to marry someone who is just like me. Really, I want to marry someone who is me; unless he goes by the name Orlando Bloom, has appeared in Lord of Rings and used to date Kate Bosworth– in which case, I’m forgoing all grand ideas and am justing willing to marry him. Think, you could share clothes, never quibble about ideas, forgo all those annoying “what are you feeling conversations” and really just exist in simple harmony. But then, you’d miss out on the fire that sparks from argumentation, from the injection of new ideas and the new and dynamic improvement in your self.
Find a mate is like finding a business partner. While its easiest to work with someone who is just like you, you and your company will be better off by finding a partner who is a little bit or a lot different. Or so, this is the thesis set forth by Forbes magazine in this article, which discusses 5 things to look for in a business partnership.
Here’s a problem, though, for many of you. Entrepreneurs tend to work alone. In order to generate new ideas and reach new levels of innovation, should you bring in a businesses parter? Do all great yings have a yang? I think I’ll let you all hash out these answers further. I argue though that a business partner is not necessary but a springboard is. We must all either be capable of providing a yang to our ying or know someone who can do so. Part of being successful is being innovative. We cannot be innovative if we are stuck in the comfort of being ourselves. We must reach out. Reach further. Reach ahead.
So although I want to marry my carbon copy, I’ll continue you looking for a partner who can push me to be more than who I am right now. Isn’t that what we all want with our companies- a entity that is constantly striving to be more? To succeed we must be constantly challenged and consistently evaluating our moves– Ben and Jerry did is successfully. So it should be you and who (rhyming not required)?
