First Word

Over the years, I collaborated or partnered with several people. Some partnerships are better than others. 3L President Scott D. Roberts is the best partnership I've had with anyone. The reason the partnership works so well might help others decide if they want to partner with someone. Now some people thrive on different kinds of collaborative relationships. So the gifts that Scott D. brings to the company and to my creative world are things that I found I personally thrive upon. Sense of Humor . Does that sound unimportant? Well, it's very important -- especially under stress. If you can't laugh at yourself or others than life gets far too ridiculous. Anything can be diffused with a great joke, and laughter is a tremendous stress-reliever. If anyone read the texts that go back and forth between Scott and myself it would often be like reading a great stand-up routine. Like-Mindedness with a Dash of Difference . If you have the same vision it's easier to make it happ...

I've had several partnerships over the years. You could say I've had the good, the bad and the severely unattractive. Partnerships in business are no different than partnerships in marriage or life. Your husband leaves the cap off the toothpaste; your partner doesn't like the cap off the pen. Well, it's not quite that petty (most of the time). I've rarely seen partnerships that flourish over the long-term. I do think for overall success once you entered a business relationship/partnership, you should use this checklist. Tip : Take your time in evaluating a prospective partner! Like a marriage it can end badly or it can work wonderfully over the long haul . Are you like-minded in a good way ? Oh, you can be like-minded in a bad way, believe me. For example, strengths and weaknesses. It's better to be yin-yang and then simpatico in thinking than yin-what-the-heck? Like-minded thinking in the positive means your outlooks match on how to do things or how to mana...