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To have a high trust relationship, certainly in a business context, you need an alignment of two things, shared values and shared value.

By shared values I mean; do you share a common sense of purpose? Are you passionate about similar things? Do you like each other?

By shared value I mean; is there a shared outcome that unites you? Can you create more value together than each on your own? Do you have the conditions for success?

If you reflect on past partnerships, it’s unlikely that you’ve had too many partnerships that were both low values and low value, given there is no real personal or professional benefit to this kind of relationship. If you have, you may be a glutton for punishment! Your very best, highest trust partnerships, will almost certainly all be high values and high value; the holy grail.

Your worst partnerships, those that were highly transactional and sucked up enormous time, energy and resources, will likely be low values and high value (or at least perceived high value). These are the partnerships where you convince yourself that you can change the other party over time, or that the commercial benefits will compensate for the mutual dislike of each other. This is a false dawn. It almost always ends badly and is not worth the effort or aggravation.

If you want aggravation, transactional relationships and low levels of trust, focus on the value you can get from someone else as a priority. If you want high levels of trust and relationships that stand the test of time, focus on values first. There’s no real exchange of value, unless you first align on values.

INSPIRATION FROM OTHERS

“The best partnerships aren’t dependent on a mere common goal but on a shared path of equality, desire, and no small amount of passion.” – Sarah MacLean

“Politeness is the poison of collaboration.” – Edwin Land

QUESTIONS TO REFLECT ON

• Think about the best business partnership you’ve ever had; what made it so productive?
• Think about the worst business partnership you’ve ever had; what made it so painful?
• Think about your current business partnerships; are they built on a foundation of high values alignment?

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