“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want
to go far, go together.” - African Proverb
In reading Paul Graham’s articles Startups
in 13 Sentences, The 18 Mistakes That Kill Startups, and even How
to Get Startup Ideas the importance of having a good cofounder is a
recurring theme.
From a young age, I’ve dreaded group projects.
Perhaps my loathing started with a fifth grade partner project on The
Indian in the Cupboard where, after being wildly displeased with my
partner’s quality of work, I did the entire project myself. A similar scenario
repeated itself throughout high school and undergrad and my five-year
non-profit career. There were times, of course, in school or at work when I
could select my own partner(s), but I would not always make the right choice.
Often times I would choose my friends. “Surely,” I thought, “we will work well
together.” Alas, a great friend does not always make a great partner. As I
gained experience, I realized that the key to choosing a great partner was
finding someone with a similar work ethic.
If, for example, your strengths and passions lie
in the technology side of your business, then a partner with marketing and communication
skills is important. However, even if Dan Wieden (creator of perhaps the best
marketing campaign of the 20th century, “Just Do It”) comes on
board, if you have different work ethics, the partnership is doomed to fail. No
matter how smart and accomplished someone is, it doesn’t mean they’re a match
for you. For me, if a partner is lacking dependability, dedication, or
determination, then we won't work well together. Entrepreneur's 7 Elements of a Strong Work Ethic elaborates
on these work ethic keys and more. Reviewing the elements and using them to
evaluate potential social venture partners is a must in my book.
Just a few months ago, I was partnered with
someone whose personality I did not click with--not someone I would typically gravitate to or form a friendship with. However, we worked swimmingly together!
Why? We had the same work ethic. We would Google Chat about our project into
the wee hours of the morning, obsess over details, and over prepare. It was
amazing. I felt comfortable delegating and confident that when we split up work
our completed pieces would be of similar quality. We were a great match on
paper because she was a master with Microsoft Project and survey design while I
had extensive oral and written communication experience. However, Project and
survey design (both of which I'm now very comfortable with) can be learned,
work ethic is an inherent trait.
There are times I want to slip back into my lone
wolf ways and do everything myself. As a lone wolf you get to, “do it your way,” says entrepreneur Lewis Howes in his podcast, but “you’re not going to be able to scale...grow…build a
legacy.”
What qualities do you look for when finding a
partner? Are you more of a lone wolf or a team player? Have you ever been part
of a partnership whose success or failure surprised you?
No comments:
Post a Comment