The Oregon Ballet Theater in Portland, Oregon recently just wrapped up a brief run of Romeo and Juliet. It was beautifully done from the costumes to the performance. Given my vantage point, I was able to see the dancers in great detail. The expressions on their faces, the grace in movement, and athleticism – all were extraordinary. What never ceases to amaze me is the combination of strength and flexibility necessary to be a top dancer. It all looks so easy and effortless. And necessary. The fluid movements and grace would not be possible without both elements. Imagine a ballerina perched on one toe, with her other leg pointing toward the ground rather than the heavens. Or the danseur (male dancer) performing a split leap toward the ballerina, but not able to lift her above his head and place her on her toe. The ballet would not be the same without strength and flexibility.

The same elements are necessary in business. Strength gives the business the ability to persevere, and have the knowledge and skills that allow it to gain position against competitors. Flexibility allows the business to adapt and change course quickly, to make decisions rapidly and maintain a cost structure that allows it to be competitive. Both elements are necessary in equal proportion to be highly successful. How well have you built strength and flexibility into your business?

My dog loves going for walks. The more the better. Being the yellow lab she is, the mere hint of heading out to explore the world gets her doing backflips. The leash appears and her focus is intently on the road ahead. She knows the route and plows ahead. That is until a squirrel appears on a fence, a branch or the ground anywhere in the vicinity. The walk becomes a distant memory and chasing the squirrel is the only thing that matters. If not for me holding her back, she would be way down a different road or in a backyard, completely off the path. Of course, if I trained her better, she would ignore the squirrels all together.

Its funny how squirrels don’t just appear on walks. They appear everywhere in business. They are the little things that start moving around and distract attention from the goal and cause a loss of momentum toward the things that matter. With training and focus, they can be ignored completely. But if not, they can have a significant impact on the results of the company. How do you keep your organization from chasing squirrels?

Over the last few days, several folks I’ve had conversations with have talked about being in a partnership or have been thinking about starting a partnership. When asked why, the response is typically something to the effect of they like each other and think that there may be a service offering that may meet a perceived market need. Then usually there is some expression of frustration about how the other doesn’t see their perspective.

Partnerships can be great when people are aligned on the intention of partnership. In these cases, the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. More can be accomplished together than alone. The challenge with partnerships comes when folks jump in before discussing why, the intention of getting into the partnership and what they want out of it. At times, the goals can be incompatible and create problems that can be easily averted. It may be the best solution is to work together on a specific project with a checkpoint at the end to see if a more formal long-term arrangement makes sense. How do you ensure alignment before getting into partnerships?