Pick Your Partners Well - Because it's Harder to Unpick Them

I shared the following blog as a LinkedIn post a few years ago and it got many thousands of views. It’s worth sharing again.

“I enjoy mentoring young entrepreneurs. One asked me recently, ‘What is the most important lesson you've learned in business that you wish you could have avoided?’

An absolutely great question. And it took me a few short seconds to respond.

The single most important lesson for me has been to make sure I pick my partners well: whether it's a startup co-founder, co-investing in a partnership, joining a board of directors, picking a strategic product development partner or distribution channel partner.

What does ‘Well’ mean? It means never taking shortcuts in the interest of expediency to truly understand the person you are about to take on as a business partner. The urge to be decisive and move quickly is inherent in being an entrepreneur. You are always on the clock. But I made the mistake of not doing my diligence a couple of times and it was always painful, lengthy, distracting and often expensive to unwind.

Do the work and take the time to truly understand not only what they bring to the table in terms of competency, knowledge and network, but also understanding what motivates them, how they navigate and solve thorny complex problems, are their ethical values clear, and do they treat people not only good times but when the going gets tough.”

David Karabinos | CEO | Healthcare Technology Strategist

www.DavidKarabinosAdvisory.com