As you start to mature and take life seriously you realize that bigger ambitions require more people.
This means that for the most part, you need to be part of some kind of team or partnership to win. With this comes trust, time spent together and all kinds of emotional hurdles. In a lot of ways it’s like living with someone, only worse because at the end of the day it’s actually about money.
You will fight over the dumbest crap.
There will be moments where you consider “breaking up” and others where that breakup happens.
Sometimes you get back together with former business partners but the relationship goes in a whole new way.
It’s a wonderful moment when different people whose skill and personalities combine create magic for a stronger unit.
Often those people squabble like a married couple.
Relationships can be messy but can also be really worth it
I find people use the term relationship to describe romantic partners.
It’s often the first thing that comes to mind when the word is used. In reality, relationships are really broad. They come with all kinds of layers.
Here is the definition I jacked from Google who stole it from Oxford:
the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected.
By nature of it starting with “the way” it shows that relationships are subjectively unique. It’s based on how two entities, or even ideas, mesh together. This covers the full range of emotional driven attitudes.
This means you even have a relationship with your opps.
The relationship status may be enemy, or even enemy I make money with, but it’s still set in some quantifiable way.
I find people misuse the word friend as a relationship status, we’re mostly peers and acquaintances.
On another day we can explore the labels of relationship types, but today I wanted to focus on peers and colleagues.
Finding partners with common goals and missions are secret to success
Once upon a time I met a Chris Chrome.
He decided what we do synergizes well enough to move in the same direction and throw down in my camp. While still autonomous, he made the choice to partner up. That has allowed the whole Behind That Suit universe to move forward.
At different times I’ve worked with different people for a multitude of projects.
Littyyy Bro Flacko & I do the whole PRSPCTVS thing. We have a great relationship, though in truth getting a business manager behind us, a third person to tell us what to do, would be fire. Only if they understood how we move.
Each persona you encounter provides a certain amount of value toward your goals.
The ideal state is when the person is selfishly motivated by the same things you are. Especially if your values and principles are similar. It gets better when you are good at different skills, too many chefs in the kitchen never helps.
You are basically looking for people who you like being around, or at least can tolerate, that when combined forces, the outcome is greater than your solo efforts.
Doing that is a surefire way to achieve more. Usually it’s good to keep in mind things like diversity, but I’d focus on genuine connections at first. Go get some success before you worry about the rest of it.
In the meantime just remember these relationships can feel like marriages.
A lot of business is based on trust and intimacy, kind of like love
A lot of the rituals around business relationships look like dating.
I once watched a wooing process before a union of two companies. There were hockey games, hikes, dinners and travelling to two countries as the relevant figures bonded. Or at least decided if they wanted to lie in bed together with each other, at a corporate level, for the long term.
Like a marriage/long term romance play, it matters if the people involved are compatible.
It doesn’t always matter if everyone wants to be friends, but there is going to be something that ties you together. If you end up putting energy into a brand that dies, over personality conflict, it feels the exact same as a regular shmegular breakup.
Everyone has a different level of maintenance that comes with them.
Over time what I’m looking for in life is my business soulmates. I feel like I want to be a bit polyamourous in my approach. Get a few people intertwined in a project that gets all of us to the next level.
The polyamory thing was a metaphor. It wasn’t literal. I meant like I want an orgy of personality.
Moving on.
It’s worth taking some time to feel things out before agreeing to new projects. Get to know the people involved on a more personal level. Even if the product is good, if you feel taxed after every encounter with someone, it’s not worth it.
When you do find those business soul mates, you do see the acceleration in your growth.
Live Long and Prosper Everyone