I had a conversation the other day with an entrepreneur (let’s call him “Ed”) who was frustrated with his business partner (“Phil”). Ed is extroverted and focused on the big ideas. Phil is introverted and detail oriented. Ed’s frustration is rooted in feeling like Phil hasn’t been supportive of some of his ideas.

I came to the conclusion that these two are the perfect match. They balance each other’s weaknesses and together are a well-rounded team. The difficulty is Ed’s perspective on the situation. He can’t forget times when Phil has disagreed with ideas he felt strongly about.

Ed and I went through some of their most successful initiatives of 2020 and the role each person played. I pointed out how each of them contributed and how unlikely each success would have been without both of them. Sure, some ideas didn’t pan out, but the ones that did were successful because of the partnership.

In my opinion, in this partnership, Ed has more to be happy about than unhappy about. He just needs to adjust his thinking. Does he want to play team ball or beef up his own stat line? Partnerships are difficult. Sometimes you get your way and sometimes you don’t. In the end, it doesn’t matter as long as you end up wearing the championship ring.