May 2011

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 Alice came to the fork in the road.

"Which road do I take?" she asked.
"Where do you want to go?" responded the Cheshire cat.
"I don't know," Alice answered.
"Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter."

- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland



 

 

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BOOK SUGGESTION:

 

The Art of Advice: How To Give It and How to Take It.  by Jeswald Salacuse 

 

 

Advising and counseling are key functions in every profession but we are rarely, if ever, specifically trained in those important skills. The ability to give advice to our partners and receive it from them is so frequently the difference between success and failure, and failure usually occurs because of the lack of understanding about the process of actually giving or getting useful advice. In the preface the author advises to be an adviser and not an oracle. Oracles declare advice to people while advisers engage as attendants to their clients and know that their basic job is to help the client draw on his or her own knowledge and experience to determine a satisfactory course of action to solve the client's problem.

 

This book contains 7 basic principles for how to give and take advice based on the over 30 years of the author's experience both domestically and internationally.  Here then are the rules:

 

1.    You Must Know Your Client. One of the great failings of advisors is that they give advice without really understanding the people who will use it.

 

2.    Help Or At Least Do No Harm. Following the injunction of Hippocrates to medical students, advisors should "help or at least do no harm." A person advising someone should realize that advice matters and can have serious consequences.

 

3.    Agree On Your Role. Like an actor in a play or a musician and an orchestra, an adviser has a definite role to play in each advising situation, and the nature and scope of that role vary from situation to situation. The adviser's role is determined by negotiation between adviser and client.

 

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Greetings!


          Welcome to MOMENTUM's May 2011 edition of The White Space. You will find my third article in a series about partnerships as well as a synopsis of The Art of Advice by Jeswald Salacuse. 

 

          I invite you to join me in creating a community of people interested in increasing their business profitability. Feel free to share this newsletter with your colleagues and associates by clicking the Forward Email link at the bottom of the newsletter.

 

         You have received this issue because you are a part of my database. If at any time you wish to be removed from my list permanently, please click on the SafeUnsubscribe™ link at the bottom of this email.

 

 

          I invite you to join me in creating a community of people interested in increasing their business profitability. If you like what you see, feel free to share this newsletter with your colleagues and associates by clicking the Forward Email link at the bottom of the newsletter.

 

         You have received this issue because you are a part of my database. If at any time you wish to be removed from my list permanently, please click on theSafeUnsubscribe™ link at the bottom of this email.

 

- Paul Cooperstein

 


Create Alignment With Your Partners

 

In the March issue of the White Space we talked about the partner selection process and  the second  we covered creating business alignment. This article discusses the next critical step in sustaining a vital partnership and how the partners will work together as an aligned team to maximize resources and opportunities.   

 

Beside a lack of thorough business planning and committing "agreements" to writing, one of the problems most frequently found in troubled partnerships is that of mismatched expectations and styles that destroy alignment and take energy away from the business.

 

Comprehensive alignment in a partnership depends heavily on how business goals, personal characteristics and expectations of the people that are involved match up. Ultimately alignment means that success in business includes success in the lives of the individual partners. Even with the best of intentions and business design, personality conflicts and differing definitions of success spell trouble.

 

To help avoid the waste caused by these frequently unspoken conflicts, the following suggestions will help you develop a clear set of operational and personal responsibilities that embrace personal work styles, personalities and ambitions.

 

    How does this business feed each of the partners' passions?

 

    How do we acknowledge differences in work styles and ambition levels?

 

    How do we resolve conflicts? When do we call in a third party?

 

    What is the difference between money earned from equity and from employment?

 

    What other passions in the partners' lives would make them want to leave?

 

    If the company hit a bump in the road, would each partner be able and willing to take a cut in compensation?

 

    How will people exit the business in a way that protects the interests of the company as well as of the individuals?

 

   Would you block investment in the company if it meant you lost your role as an employee?

 

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Momentum has offices in Boston and San Rafael CA, and helps people have conversations in business that work better. We support the building of partnerships in business through coaching (before, during and after). We facilitate operational planning, organizational development, project management, executive coaching and building high value customer relationships. For more information, send Paul Cooperstein an email at paul@businessmomentum.org or call him at 617-328-7333. To access the website click here 


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