Dance Lessons

13

Ending a

Partnership

That Flopped

I

lishing company with a unique niche, poised for

partnership with two well-known authors (one of

this book’s authors) to create a brand-new train-

ing program—low cost, high quality, easy to use.

The company had so far published only text-

books and workbooks. This was to be their first

attempt to apply the book distribution model to

a packaged training program.

Their contract negotiation was seamless. An

advance was arranged, program specs clarified,

and one of the authors’ clients chosen to field test

the six-module program. Program development

went smoothly; the product emerged competi-

tively priced and attractively packaged. Everyone

was proud of the new “baby”!

But as the marketing phase began, so too

did the partnership death knell. The first sound

175

IT HAD THE EARLY LOOK OF SUCCESS: A FAST-GROWING PUB-

LESSON

176 STEP SIX: BOWING OUT

of impending failure was when the publisher asked for the

authors’ mailing lists. The request was not unusual; the desper-

ation in the publisher’s voice was. Because initial sales were

sluggish, the publisher’s communication became more terse;

the authors’ disappointment became more audible.

Finally, communication between publisher and authors all

but ceased. As the product went into the “slow inventory” ware-

house, everyone involved felt part of the partnership failure.

The company’s financial loss was equal to the authors’ waste

of sweat equity. No one was happy with the outcome.

At a trainers’ conference several months later, one of the

authors encountered a key executive from the publishing com-

pany. Their awkward rendezvous soon turned into a curiosity-

driven debriefing. What went wrong? How did they miscue?

What were the real reasons a partnership with such promise

ended with such disappointment? The postmortem diagnosis

soon became clear.

The publisher had assumed that the two authors would

carry the lion’s share of the marketing function, just as they had

done for product development. “After all,” said the publishing

exec in defense of his perspective, “you two have such great

contacts . . . and you’re well known in this specialty.” When

author-driven marketing failed to materialize, the publisher felt

betrayed by the authors. The authors were involved in several

other business partnerships and had assumed that once the

product hit the market, their marketing role would be more

passive than active—more support than leadership. They felt

abandoned by the publisher.

“If we had communicated up front the way we’re commu-

nicating now,” said the publishing executive, “we would not be

communicating now about what we’re communicating!” Both

agreed that each had ignored early signals that could have fore-

warned an impending stumble. Both agreed that they had not

been forthright about the concerns they were feeling. The pub-

lishing executive summed it up this way: “This partnership

could have worked. It’s a shame our expectations discussion

only covered our aspirations, not our assumptions. We were

both too timid for our own good.”

Our research on partnership revealed a special discovery:

endings can be as important as beginnings. Partnerships some-

times deteriorate to animosity because the partners are unable

to recognize ending signals and dance on after the music has

stopped. The ill-starred stoppage leaves the partners angry, bit-

ter, and reluctant to dance again. Sometimes partnerships just

peter out without anyone drawing the curtains. Adjournments

are as vital as auditions—whether closure comes because of fail-

ure or in spite of success.

Handling the Dark

Side of Closure

“

W

hen your partnership

fails, take a close look at your own footprints,” suggests Jack

Tester of Contractors 2000. “If you think it is over, look at your

motives, look at theirs, trust your gut, and pull the trigger.” His

advice to extract personal growth from a partnership failure

is wise counsel.

The key to avoiding the bitter side of ending a failing part-

nership is recognizing the signs of needed closure. There are at

least three forces that can precipitate this “sweet sorrow”:

■ Partner A wants the partnership to end, but Partner

B does not (or the reverse);

■ neither partner wants to end, but external forces

demand it; or

■ both partners want the partnership to end because

they recognize that it has failed and external forces

share their view.

ENDING A PARTNERSHIP THAT FLOPPED 177