“Iron sharpens iron – is akin to the power of two! I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot and together we can do great things! These should be the foundation of any partnerships. The complimentary application of each persons can do leads to the growth and sustainability of any business venture. Merchants and traders, from time immemorial, have made use of the principle of a strategic partnership to conduct their businesses; the trend is still very much applicable today.
A partnership manifests itself in different forms, ranging from business owners cooperating to invest in an idea thus sharing technical knowledge and strength of each to an exchange of goods for the ultimate success of each. Whatever the business venture, partnership only works when theres a clear articulation of what each party brings to the Union and the mutual benefits.
Irrespective of how astute, how creative or how brilliant an idea is, the owner of the idea will benefit from having trusted partners around who are committed to the idea and can play the role of a conscience, gap filler and positive critic.
The power of two is grounded on the premise of “give and take”, for any partnership to be successful there has to be a clear balance of giving and taking be it co-founders or bartering construct.
Companies, that initially grew organically, need to look for new ways to drive collaborative innovation that delivers on what their customers need today and in the future partnership is the way to go.
Partnership benefits everyone: businesses, employees and customers. Businesses can broaden their relevance and increase their addressable market; customers benefit from the strengths and offerings each organisation brings to the table; and employees can expand their development opportunities by being exposed to new perspectives and expertise.
The secret to the success of any partnership is rooted in trust and respect between all partners.