Starting a company takes time, dedication, and perseverance. More often than not, new business owners underestimate their own workload, especially in terms of what it takes just to get their company up and running. It's easy to burn through time and money without even realizing it, all of which is happening when the stakes are high and you're under pressure as you try to ensure the company's success. Being an entrepreneur requires taking risks, as I'm sure you were aware when you signed up. And in this critical infant stage of your business, you know that if it doesn't work out, you may never recover from the loss of resources and self-esteem. This scenario is stressful and frustrating enough. Add a partner's expectations and differences of opinion, and it can have disastrous results. Now consider if that partner is a close friend or even a spouse. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not suggesting that you should go it alone. Having a business partner can be incredibly advantageous, since that means you're sharing risk, responsibility, and financial investments. Considering these types of assets, having a partner may even be the difference between being able to start a company vs. falling short of having the resources you'd need to even begin. However, with that said, there are certain aspects of the partnership arrangement that you need to think about, talk about with your partner, and formalize in writing - yes, even if they're your spouse. This book will lead you through the 9 specific components of business partnership that - for the sake of your company, your own personal finances, and your peace of mind - must be formalized in writing. It doesn't matter how well you (think you) know the person you are considering going into business with. The items covered in this book are absolutely crucial to the successful start and end of a partnership, and may well be just what helps protect the relationship you had together before starting the business. If you are considering starting a business with a partner, or if you are already in the process of doing so, then this book is a must-read!

In The Partnership Charter, psychologist and business mediation expert David Gage offers a comprehensive guide to the art of establishing and maintaining a business partnership. The centerpiece of his approach is the Partnership Charter, a document that clearly outlines the goals, expectations, responsibilities, and relationships of the principals. The charter identifies potential sources of conflict and how they will be resolved, while addressing such sensitive issues as personal styles, values, money, and power. Illustrating every principle through engaging stories drawn from Gage's front-line experience consulting to business partners, as well as interviews with the founding partners of such successful businesses as Progressive Insurance Company and Manpower, Inc., The Partnership Charter dispels common myths and presents a practical framework for launching, building, and sustaining a thriving business partnership.

The Founder's Dilemmas examines how early decisions by entrepreneurs can make or break a startup and its team. Drawing on a decade of research, including quantitative data on almost ten thousand founders as well as inside stories of founders like Evan Williams of Twitter and Tim Westergren of Pandora, Noam Wasserman reveals the common pitfalls founders face and how to avoid them.

Bronze winner of the AXIOM Business Book Award in the category of Philanthropy, Non-Profit, Sustainability. Please see: http://www.axiomawards.com/77/award-winners/2017-winners This easy-to-read and engaging book is the perfect introduction to how to build a sustainable brand for your organization. Intended as a roadmap that can be readily applied by busy managers and practitioners, the book includes interviews with business leaders, including Paul Polman of Unilever, Adam Elman of Marks & Spencer, and Jonas Prising of ManpowerGroup to provide insight into best practice and clear guidance for implementation. Throughout, the book avoids jargon and theorizing to ensure readability. Business on a Mission is based on more than a decade working with some of the first businesses to develop social missions and shows the foundations behind their success. It looks at how businesses can profit from working hand in hand with society and identifies a model for success. The book demonstrates how businesses can go from hiding behind "social shields" to picking up "social swords" and presents the six criteria to look for in assessing a social mission. It also focuses on how good communications can build trust and bring about positive change; and it provides clear ways to engage employees and improve productivity as well as "rules" for communicating social missions externally. This optimistic book explains the benefits of partnerships in the sustainable development agenda, particularly between businesses and NGOs. The book features guidelines for avoiding dysfunctional partnerships, and presents interviews with Marc Van Ameringen, Executive Director of GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition) 2005 to 2016, and Myriam Sidibe, Social Mission Director for Africa, Unilever, on how things can be managed to the benefit of both partners. .

Two veteran business consultants show business people how to manage the personal side of partnerships and choreograph the results they want. Successful partnering, the authors argue, is like dancing--easily learned in six simple steps. Illustrations.

If you want your startup to succeed, you need to understand why startups fail. “Whether you’re a first-time founder or looking to bring innovation into a corporate environment, Why Startups Fail is essential reading.”—Eric Ries, founder and CEO, LTSE, and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way Why do startups fail? That question caught Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann by surprise when he realized he couldn’t answer it. So he launched a multiyear research project to find out. In Why Startups Fail, Eisenmann reveals his findings: six distinct patterns that account for the vast majority of startup failures. • Bad Bedfellows. Startup success is thought to rest largely on the founder’s talents and instincts. But the wrong team, investors, or partners can sink a venture just as quickly. • False Starts. In following the oft-cited advice to “fail fast” and to “launch before you’re ready,” founders risk wasting time and capital on the wrong solutions. • False Promises. Success with early adopters can be misleading and give founders unwarranted confidence to expand. • Speed Traps. Despite the pressure to “get big fast,” hypergrowth can spell disaster for even the most promising ventures. • Help Wanted. Rapidly scaling startups need lots of capital and talent, but they can make mistakes that leave them suddenly in short supply of both. • Cascading Miracles. Silicon Valley exhorts entrepreneurs to dream big. But the bigger the vision, the more things that can go wrong. Drawing on fascinating stories of ventures that failed to fulfill their early promise—from a home-furnishings retailer to a concierge dog-walking service, from a dating app to the inventor of a sophisticated social robot, from a fashion brand to a startup deploying a vast network of charging stations for electric vehicles—Eisenmann offers frameworks for detecting when a venture is vulnerable to these patterns, along with a wealth of strategies and tactics for avoiding them. A must-read for founders at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey, Why Startups Fail is not merely a guide to preventing failure but also a roadmap charting the path to startup success.

The family business becomes much more complex as it goes from the founder/entrepreneur to next generations. As more family members work together several challenges become apparent and can threaten the business if not addressed. This book, written by experts in the field of family business, shows the family members how to confront the problems and how to create solutions. Including: -Acknowledging that change needs to happen class -Building a formal structure around the business… including decision making processes -Strengthening both personal and professional relationships -Determining who has a role in the family business (spouses, children) -Creating a process to address conflict And more. The authors have over 50 year work experience in family business - from their business research at top universities, to their global consulting practice.