Identifying Potential Partners In Business or Life
You know there’s a saying that goes:
“Action Speak Louder Than Words”
and I found a quote from Benjamin Franklin which says this even better
“Well Done Is Better Than Well Said”
In my line of marketing, I have seen a lot of entrepreneurs, business owners and managers per say. One sight has been pretty common. Many like to talk about how wonderful they are, how much they know and they like to put themselves on a pedestal as if they are the king of the world. Then again, when it comes to delivering, they can’t deliver.
ie: There was this guy whom we enter into a partnership for an event. The deal was that each party are responsible to bring in 150 people to fill the space, making it a total of a small, 300 people event.
In the end, my side brought in close to 198 while at his end, 6. Its pretty horrible when you look at it. The thing is, I knew this was going to happen because of his behavior. He acted as if he knew everything, and that he’s way smarter and experience than most of us. You know its a red flag when this happens.
Recently, I had my fair share of experience, one that even my intuition couldn’t pick up. And truthfully, you got to give it to these people who painted how good they are as a person, that they are the “good” guys trying to eradicate the ‘evil’ and help the world. Then again, that’s just word that comes out of their mouth. Action… never was seen.
Come to think of it, if one is good, one simply do not need to declare it to the world. Psychologically, doing so is to seek assurance from people which unfortunately, could do more harm than good. This is because, one can simply fall back to seeking “assurance” despite their mistakes.
Think about it… do you see people going around telling people “Oh, I am rich”. Even if he is rich… what is that psychological thinking behind the brain for him to do that ? Attention, Assurance, Inferiority ? Likewise, you don’t see people going around telling people “Oh, I am a good man with integrity”. What makes ? You certainly don’t see successful and I mean… the really successful people going around telling people “I am just amazing.” – Red Flag buddy
One of the lessons in life when finding a business partner or an associate in life is to observe what they say and talk. From there… you can easily pick out signs if the person is worth the trust.
One may appear to be a “good person” in front of you because you have “use” for them… chuck you aside when you no longer serve their purpose (aka milking money from you). These are the people you need to watch out for.
Like I’ve said before, as humans, we like to listen to what we want to hear and if we hear what we want to hear, we will simply take that into acceptance. That’s dangerous… and I surely have learnt my fair share of experience.
Observe, ask around… especially the industry or fellow peers. You’ll find great insights which will help you make a decision before entering into a partnership.
Warren Buffett once said:
It Takes 20 Years To Build a Reputation & just 5 Minutes To Destroy It
If your reputation is at stake, it is better that you do your due diligence before anything else.