Every successful person understands that they can not succeed by themselves. Success is always based on effective partnerships.
Every business needs customers. Every manufacturer needs suppliers, and entrepreneurs depend on partners for financing, marketing, and production. Even the solitary "day trader" depends on thousands of people who maintain the systems that permit them to work "alone."
But there are even more basic partnerships that often go unnoticed, and like any partnership that is ignored, they can fall apart with disastrous impact on your business, and your life. I'm talking about the "internal" partnerships that are absolutely fundamental to your long-term success.
Here are 4 vital "partnerships" that must be maintained and nurtured for your business to flourish:
1. The partnership between your "Head" and your "Heart". People stuck in jobs they hate are examples of allowing this partnership to erode. Whether it's the lure of profits or the loyalties of a family business, the results of following a path without passion are the same. We make money, and spend it on therapists. We have the prestige or the money, but find no joy in the process. The "logic" of your head and the "passion" of your heart must partner together for long-term success.
2. The partnership between your "Goals" and your "Values". How often have you defined a goal, committed to its achievement, and then failed to follow through? Often, this is because your values were not aligned with the goal. If your goal to earn more conflicts with your value of spending more time as a family, the value will win every time! Values go deeper than goals, and when there is conflict between your goals and your values, you will fail to reach your goals, and feel badly about it, every time.
3. The partnership between your "Desires" and your "Resources". Often, we attempt projects for which we do not have the skills, the financing, or the aptitude, and in the end, we fail. Financing a lifestyle on credit cards is a common example. So is attempting to run a business without the skills required for success. When our desires and our skills partner effectively, we are viewed as competent, and become an expert in our field. But when our desires and our resources are not aligned, the result is frustration and disappointment.
4. The partnership between your "Vision" and your "Effort". Many entrepreneurs have a clear vision of success, but fail to do the work of turning their vision into reality. Other individuals have the energy and ambition to work hard, but without a guiding vision, their work is scattered, inconsistent and unproductive. Success requires partnering a brilliant vision with the hard work of focused daily action.
To maintain these internal partnerships, regularly clarify your priorities. Review your goals and your values, and assess your actions in light of your vision. To achieve any long term success, you will need external partnerships with colleagues, suppliers, and customers, but you will also need strong internal partnerships based on knowing who you are, what you want, and where you are going in life. Nurture these partnerships and they will take you far. They will take you to the top!
