11 Feb Love & Work
Posted at 16:47h
in Business Couples
6 Keys to Making it Work –
Sigmund Freud famously said that “Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness.” And most people would agree: Having love and doing meaningful work are deeply connected to our satisfaction in life. But how do you manage both in a single relationship as Copreneurs have to do?
- Talk Early and Often. Make time every day to communicate with each other about what’s going on in your lives, not just the business. Listen. Empathize. Bring up problems when they’re small.
- Know Your Boundaries. When you live with your business partner and work with your life partner, it’s easy to become entangled. Be clear about your own needs, your time, your priorities, limits and expectations.
- Divide and Conquer. You may have started out doing everything together, but as the business matures, so should the way you work. Play to your strengths, in roles that the business needs you to fill.
- Stay in Your Lane. Speaking of roles, when you’ve clarified yours, play it well and expect that your partner will do the same. You can keep your nose to the grindstone and still work shoulder to shoulder.
- Agree on the Big Picture. As you run the business and make decisions, conflicts will inevitably arise. Define what success looks like together. That shared vision is home plate – a place you can always come back to.
- Love Doesn’t Make Up for Hard Work. Love may conquer all, but it’s not gonna get that shipment out or file the taxes on time. Commitment for the long haul is the key to growing a business and a relationship.
Love and work… work and love, that’s all there is.
̶ Sigmund Freud
Most leaders accept that at some time in the future, their time at the helm will end and the business will be given into the care of the next leader. However, just thinking about the transition can be daunting and overwhelming for the senior leader. If that weren’t enough, most owners experience their own succession just once. Tandem Partners provides the experience and professional guidance needed to move through the strategic, operational and interpersonal issues that are all a part of transition.
For families in business, success is not just measured in fiscal years, but over generations. Yet often, leaders are so focused on the day-to-day that they aren’t able to step back and focus on the issues that impact long-term sustainability. We help leadership teams assess where they are now, where they’re trying to go and how they’re going to get there. Our expertise in the areas of organizational strategy, structure, process and performance is a unique feature of our work, and integral to our transition management approach.
