5 January 2010
Personal Growth
Posted by Moss under: Business .
A partnership is a lot like marriage: in marriage the reasons a couple stays together are usually not the reasons they got married in the first place. As life progresses, each person evolves and changes. Unless individuals adapt to the other person’s personal growth and development, marriages can stagnant or even become antagonistic.
Partners in any venture, particularly a business relationship, also grow, develop, and change. They grow in at least two ways. Personal growth involves changes in attitude, interests, abilities, and goals. What might be personally intriguing at age 30 may be less motivating at age 50. A competitive basketball game may be replaced by a doze at the beach.
Personal growth also requires partners to change; making the early enterprise work when it’s in an entrepreneurial state of development requires different skills and competences as compared to a partnership that has weathered the obstacles of a start-up and has grown into a more professional partnership.
Partners may find themselves evolving out of a “fighting for their life” kind of company, one driven by constant sales, 60 hour work weeks, multitasking of roles and responsibilities, and a sparse personal life to one characterized by great customer service, a shortened work week, a concentrated work focus, and nurturing of relationships.
Partners may need to learn, empower and mentor others, and exercise good judgment and negotiating skills. They learn to better harness their energy, impulses, and competitiveness. Empathy, generosity, and compromise become their standards for engagement.
Bottom Line
- Partners grow and change over time.
- Needs and motivations evolve.
- Different skills and talents are required at different times in the life of a partnership.
- Successful partners appreciate the changing currents of life, adapt to each other over time, and develop compassion in the process.
