The Partnership Charter: How To Start Out Right With Your New Business Partnership (or Fix The One You're In)

as a rule, the greater the differences, the greater the potential advantages, but also the greater the risk of conflict.

Our first rule was that owners always came last. The client, the company, the staff, the bank, and Uncle Sam always came first and in that order. For the owners to take dividends we had to have satisfied clients that paid their bills on time. Next, we had to have a company that was growing, in good condition, well equipped, well capitalized and cur

Fairness ratings. In the second exercise, the partners rate their satisfaction with the various components of interpersonal equity and answer one overall fairness question. This exercise is especially relevant for partners who have been working with one another for some time. How satisfied are you with what you are currently contributing? How satis

You have to know your own and your partners’ reasons for wanting to own a business. Then you have to make sure everyone’s motives are compatible.

Partnerships infused with a generous, altruistic, and benevolent spirit are not that common.

A Partnership Charter is not written in stone; it’s a living document that changes just as the individual partners and the partnership change. Partners must make a commitment to review it periodically and revise it as needed. The periodic reviews help ensure that partners continue to pay attention to any changes that are taking place before it’s to

we realized that there was a pattern. Even when serious conflicts do not surface for years, the origin of partner conflicts can usually be traced to the origins of the partnerships.

The essential elements of a successful partnership are a good fit between the partners’ personalities, similar values, the ability to be a team player, compatible goals and clear expectations, and mutual trust and respect.

TABLE 2.1 Comparison Between Partnership Agreements and Partnership Charters Partnership Agreement Partnership Charter Legally binding document; meant to create legal safeguards that compel certain conduct among the partners Not legally binding; meant to instill and help maintain a collaborative partner spirit Serves as a contract that creates part