Management Information |
The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Competitive, Not Complementary Action
A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble. Competitive, Not Complementary Action James Carville and Mary Matlin are public relations spokespeople for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively. They are each articulate, sharp and feisty. Sparks fly when they debate in favor of their parties, so much so that they seem like arch enemies who couldn't possibly exchange a friendly word. I remember the shock reaction I had (how many years ago was it?) hearing that they were getting married. I pictured a contentious loud fighting household. Recently I saw the two of them on television talking about their private lives. One never knows for sure the truth about public figures or anyone else for that matter, but if taken at face value, they have a solid marriage, children and good family life. They displayed mellowness, respect and total togetherness. It was obvious that the party competitiveness was left outside of the house and what was brought inside was love, goal sharing, and family first. Businesses run by partners are very much like marriages. If the partners are in competition with each other they are creating a lot of damage. First of all, their relationship is limited because there cannot be complete openness between competitors. The ultimate goal of the success of the business is undermined and lost in the morass of the need to win over each other. If the competition is obvious to others and it usually is, it creates a situation of two camps where employees, directors and suppliers choose sides. If the business is comprised of family members, the situation can be even more intense and damaging because the negative effects permeate to personal lives and to family members who may not even be directly involved in the business. As a coach, I help the partners focus on their goal for the business by examining the harm caused by destructive self centered behavior. The need to compete and win sometimes is an unresolved need to play out old family patterns even if the partners are not members of the same family. The goal of coaching is not to heal old patterns, but rather to contain them and to create new patterns of satisfaction that directly relate to business success. If the situation is so entrenched, therapy may be recommended as part of the solution. However, usually coaching techniques which direct the parties to clarify and satisfy needs in productive ways in order to focus on the business, such as Carville and Matlin focus on their marriage, is the usual path that can be implemented. About The Author Dorene Lehavi, Ph.D. is principal of Next Level Business and Professional Coaching. She coaches Professionals and Business Partners and teaches teleclasses on techniques to break through barriers to the next level. Dr. Lehavi offers a complimentary coaching session so you can experience how coaching can work for you. Contact Dr. Lehavi at Dorene@CoachingforYourNextLevel.com or on the web at Http://www.CoachingforYourNextLevel.com. Subscribe to Mastering Your Next Level monthly e-newsletter at http://www.coachingforyournextlevel.com/newsletter.html dorene@nextlevelpartnership.com
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
IT Expenditure - Why Businesses Spend Huge Amounts on Ineffective IT Investments Another IT White Elephant!It seems that almost every day we read in the newspapers about another hideously over budget IT project that doesn't achieve its expected benefits. The ones we read about are usually major multi-million pound projects in the public sector, however this is only the tip of the iceberg. Innovation Management - Innovation or Profit? Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. Uncovering the Secrets to Effective Performance Management In many ways there are no secrets to implementing effective performance management. Performance Management is a process and a process which if implemented effectively should ensure that both employees and managers remain both productive and motivated. Basic Management Skills Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at less than 60 % of their potential. Basic management skills training is guaranteed to change all this and at such little costManager in contextMost of my adult life has been spent working as a supervisor or manager on industrial projects throughout the world. 25 Great Ways to Find the Right People and Not Break the Bank Are you trying to hire dozens of hourly workers or a senior executive? Where do you look and how do you get the word out? There are many ways to find the right people besides placing want ads.Here are 30 innovative and inexpensive ways to expand the pool of potential applicants. Project Heroes Project heroes. We've all heard of them. Popular Business Misconceptions Cost You Money! Faulty information costs you money! Which of these popular business misconceptions do you believe?Popular Misconception #1:"We Only Need Our Books Done Once A Year For Tax Purposes."Are Your Accounting Records Adequate To Run Your Business?Although it is important to keep records for tax purposes, it is not the only reason (or even the primary reason) good accounting records should be kept. Top 10 Things NOT To Tell Angel and VC Investors I am not writing this to create a list of things not to say so people can hide the facts or in any way mislead potential investors. On the contrary I personally believe you must be 100% upfront with any potential investors, and even volunteer some weaknesses to be credible. The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Conflict Becoming the Norm - Part 2 A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble.Conflict Becoming the Norm - Part 2In a previous article, I wrote about how unresolved conflict can create havoc in your business and can often end in a failed partnership. 4 Simple Steps to Successful Delegation Last month, my featured article was about creating a "Stop Doing" list. Hopefully, if you followed my suggestion, you now have a list of tasks that you are looking to delegate away. The DNA of Motivation It really is about motivation. After all, what impels someone to climb a mountain, or go to college, or save for a car, or learn a new language or anything of a thousand things? What is it that moves someone to action from a position of comfortable stasis? The answer is motivation. Five Ways to Influence Change in Others Because of my work as a consultant, trainer and coach I deal with change and people's reactions to it all the time. When a Client decides to work with us, they are recognizing that some sort of change is needed. Are You Cascading Your Strategy, or Fragmenting It? INTRODUCTIONThe typical approach executive teams use to cascade, or roll out, their strategic direction is to produce a clear set of goals, objectives, critical success factors or a scorecard and then get each departmental or functional manager to take this on board and customize it for their part of the organisation. The trouble then begins?A TYPICAL APPROACH: EACH DEPARTMENT ADOPTS OR ADAPTS A VERSION OF THE CORPORATE STRATEGYThe first phase of most organisational planning processes is that the organisation's executives design and express a strategic direction using a framework of some kind. Top Ten Things About Creating a Business Vision To visualise where you are going, is deeper and more sensory than anything you have ever done before. And these are the skills of those who are able to create a vision you can really live and breathe. I Said Pareto Chart? Not Potato Chart! Does this sound familiar? You were hired for the new management position. You were tasked to turn the numbers around. Is Your Company in Need of Family Therapy? How Companies Are Like FamiliesLike a family, a company is a group of people who have an ongoing relationship with one another. Companies have several things in common with families:1. A Fast and Simple Way to Update Your Business You open your computer, the flashing button says, "We have a new update for your software program. Do you wish to update now or later?" You choose the Update Now button and immediately your computer begins to download a new version of the software program. Saying "No" Gracefully to Customers and Colleagues Envision the scenario: You've just been asked at the last minute by Chris, the organizer of your local networking group, to replace the scheduled speaker at next month's meeting. You already have too many commitments on your plate. Meeting Your Meeting Expectations "To get something done a meeting should consist of no more than three people, two of whom are absent."~Author unknownOne of the complaints I hear most often is about the number of meetings people attend during any given week. 6 Ways to Keep Things Simple Six Ways to Keep Things Simple We can have greater success with our Clients when we make our work processes and agreements simpler and more elegant. This article will give you ideas for making your contracts and commitments, projects and plans, reports and relationships with Clients simpler. |
home | site map | contact us |