Some thoughts on partnership

“We’re going to be a great partner for you.”

Now that nobody writes checks any more, I think that statement has overtaken “The check is in the mail” for the most common lie stated in a business context.

Partner is such an overused word.

What it usually seems to mean in a sales context is “We will take your money and offer you a service.” That’s not partnership, it’s just normal business.

I’m pretty hard to partner with. It has to do with the fact that I feel like I can do almost anything as well as somebody else can (and I often have the available time to do it). I do my own accounting. I do my own promotion. I write almost anything. I analyze almost anything. What are you going to do for me that I can’t do myself? What are you going to offer me for which the cost of collaboration is not greater than the cost of doing it myself?

This cynical attitude has kept my business humming along. I’m sure I could grow faster if I delegated more, but I just don’t want the hassle.

Characteristics of actual partnerships

That said, I’ve experienced some excellent partnerships lately. These included working with publishers, ghostwriting agencies, copy editors, graphic designers, literary agencies, and of course, my ghostwriting and editing clients.

This is what I’ve noticed about partnerships that work.

• Payment for value. Paying for a service is hit-or-miss. But when you pay for something that delivers measurable value, it tends to work far better. The best partnerships are structured around paying for value.
• Win-win. If my literary agent gets me a great publishing deal, we both profit. If my ghostwriting agency connects me with a terrific client, we both profit. In the best partnerships, a win for one party is connected to success for the other party.
• Tolerance. I make mistakes. You make mistakes. I don’t pounce on mistakes and I hope you won’t either. Partnerships are at their core connections between human beings. Those human beings need to expect a lot from each other, but tolerate each other’s occasional failings.
• Humor. If your idea of fun is crushing the competition, we’re not going to get along very well. If your idea of fun is actually having fun, well, there are plenty of chances to do that in the topsy-turvy world of business. (I recently worked with a designer who had chosen a color palette that was a bit too brown and beige. After we started to refer to it as the “pumpkin spice” color palette, it became clear why we needed something different.)
• The mutual creation of greatness. I can point to the things I am building to with partners and be amazed. We worked together. We did a great job. And you can see the results. People tend to want to work harder to create something awesome.

A funny thing happens when you have all of this. People want to work together again. I keep working with the same agencies and service providers. My clients keep coming back to me and recommending me to others.

In the end, that’s much more valuable than getting paid by the hour.