Top Ten Reasons to Partner with Someone
Top Ten Reasons to Partner with Someone
Written By Alvah Parker in collaboration with Dovid
Grossman
Partnerships come in many forms. There are legal ones such
as in business or marriage and there are loose ones when two
people come together to work or share ideas but then go on
to work or share ideas with others too. I partnered with
Dovid Grossman to come up with this list of reasons to
collaborate. Dovid was excited about a new partnership he
had formed with Chris Vogler author of THE WRITER’S JOURNEY.
Dovid and Chris will be working on a series of teleclasses
and a book on THE HERO’S JOURNEY FOR PARENTS. Parents
That is a partnership too. So what are the benefits of
collaboration?
1. Share Responsibilities Somehow with a partner to share
the responsibilities the job doesn’t seem as daunting.
Example: For an alumnae function for my college I partnered
with 2 other women to have the event in my home. We shared
the tasks of phoning, shopping, setting up and cooking.
None of us could have done it alone.
2. Outsource Your Weaknesses You do what you are good at
and your partner works from his/her strengths. You
compliment each other.
Example: If you are good at numbers, you do the accounting
for the business while your partner who likes to sell is the
marketer.
3. Brainstorm With a Buddy You get your creative juices
flowing by coming up with ideas with someone else.
Brainstorming alone is not nearly as productive.
Example: Try listing all the states in the US by yourself.
Now discard that list and brainstorm a list with a friend.
I’ve tried this with many people and invariably two people
come up with more than twice as many states as the
individuals did when working alone.
4. Instant Camaraderie It is always more fun to work with
someone else.
Example: The task of putting all the books on the
bookshelves looked tedious for Sal and Cindy. Together they
finished quickly and had time to reminisce about the many
books they had enjoyed reading.
5. Share Resources Everyone has different knowledge,
books, equipment, and materials. Pool your resources and
you have more to work with.
Example: My friend and I agreed to do a presentation
together. She had several books on the topic and I had some
tools I had used previously. Together we prepared a
presentation with more resources available had we done it
alone.
6. Gain Synergy You can build on each others ideas.
Example: My partner suggests a trip to Cape Cod for the
weekend. I suggest we go to Martha’s Vineyard and then my
partner remembers a lovely bed and breakfast that we stayed
in many years ago that we both loved on Martha’s Vineyard.
7. Have a backup It isn’t all on your shoulders now. You
have a partner who can pick up the slack and give you some
breathing room.
Example: I need a break. The kids have been screaming all
day. How nice when my partner takes charge while I lie down
for 5 minutes.
8. Push the envelope Working with a partner can inspire
you to move beyond what you have done before and take a
risk.
Example: You’ve never spoken to such a large audience
before. You’ve prepared with a friend and with her
encouragement you do it.
9. Gain a new perspective A partner might get you to think
about a new option or see something in a new way.
Example: I’m upset because the ballgame got rained out. My
partner sees it as an opportunity to play “Singing in the
Rain” and we get dressed up in our raingear and play in the
puddles. I end up having a great time.
10. Get The Work Done Partners hold each other accountable
Example: My room is a mess and I just haven’t got around to
cleaning it up. My friend has a messy office. We agree
that we will each cleanup our messes in the next hour. It
gets done!
Alvah Parker is a Business and Career Coach as well as
publisher of Parker’s Points, an email tip list and Road to
Success, an ezine. Alvah is found on the web at
www.asparker.com. She may also be reached at 781-598-0388.
Dovid Grossman: www.DovidGrossman.com www.AwesomeDads.com
www.HerosJourneyForParents.com
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