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1-Page Summary of The Power of We
A Different Approach to Leadership
Think of a titan of industry and you’re likely to picture someone who’s ruthless, competitive and aggressive. This stereotype applies to many CEO’s who are on the cover of magazines; however, they later get in trouble because they used fear as a management tool for too long. The best CEOs learn to find partnerships instead of using fear as their main motivator.
Partnership is an old concept, but it fell out of favor during the boom years of the ’90s. Entrepreneurs were so focused on individual success that they forgot about the rest of society. The people who are responsible for this are followers of novelist Ayn Rand and economist Milton Friedman, who believe that government has no role in entrepreneurial successes. This ideology did a lot of damage to our economy because entrepreneurs stopped partnering with each other.
The truth is that business benefits from the government. The courts, police departments and schools are all built by the government, so they’re free for businesses to use. Moreover, without a strong legal system, there would be chaos in society. When entrepreneurs think of themselves as lone wolves fighting against regulation and their competitors as enemies, it’s easy for them to get caught up in conflict with everyone else around them. It makes sense that such an attitude can lead to a culture where people don’t cooperate with each other well or work together effectively because they’re always trying to dominate one another rather than working together toward common goals.
Partnering with your opponents can turn them into allies. Partnering helps you make connections in other markets, which will give you more resources and help reduce wasted time spent resolving conflicts. Partner-centered organizations tend to be friendlier and more positive, which makes them healthier places to work for employees.
If a company has one positive relationship with another, the chances of having more good relationships increases. However, if there is a negative relationship between two companies, then that will lead to more negative relationships as well.
A Counterintuitive Approach
You are already benefiting from partnerships. You work with your suppliers, local businesses, schools, community groups and civic organizations. There is room to grow these relationships even more. Entrepreneurs who are used to being the best on their own may have a hard time adjusting to this new way of thinking and working together with others as partners. However, you need to embrace some principles that will help you succeed in partnering:
Partners are equal. It’s easy to become a slave to your partners, but that’s not the case with successful partnerships. You have to view them as equals or else you’ll be unable to build effective relationships. Creative thought is necessary for making partnerships happen because it requires fresh thinking in order to find reasons why two former enemies should cooperate and work together instead of fighting each other.
Compromise is necessary to make partnerships work. If you always want to win and be in control, then perhaps partnerships aren’t for you. You have to commit yourself and deliver on your promises if a partnership has any chance of being successful. Finally, you need to be flexible with how much authority you give up when partnering with others.
To have a successful partnership, you must be open with your partners. You should not withhold important information from them. However, do not share trade secrets or other sensitive information that isn’t relevant to the partnership. Also, make sure that both parties benefit equally from the relationship; if one organization is taking advantage of another for only short-term gain, the partnership will fail in the long term.
