The imporance of maintaining amicable relationships

The old saying “keep your friends close and your enemies closer” not only applies to your social circle but to your professional network as well. With the business community getting more connected by the minute, you just never know who you might find yourself working with in the future. Therefore, it is extremely important to maintain positive relationships with those within your organization and outside as well.

Teamwork. On a daily basis, we work with many different types of people and personalities. As we all know, sometimes personalities clash and tension arises. Finding ways to work through the issues not only allows you and your team to work more efficiently, it is also a learning opportunity that will help you grow as a professional. At TEC, we are successful because our members come from different backgrounds and industries to share and learn from each other’s personal and business experiences.

“Coopetition.” You don’t always have to keep your competitors in the dark for fear they’ll steal your ideas or worse, customers. Collaborating with your competition actually has the potential for several positive business opportunities. A recent Harvard Business Review article (link to article) says the goal of “coopetition” is to find a way to partner with a competitor where both parties can benefit without jeopardizing their customers or bottom line. Whether it’s creating markets, cost sharing or cross endorsement, a partnership with a competitor can give your company an advantage.

It’s a small world after all. The professional relationships that you build can benefit you and your company at times when you least expect it. However, the relationships that go sour can hurt you just as fast. You never know when you’re going to run into an old colleague again, need help from a former boss or lose an employee to a competitor. It is these potential situations that make it a necessity to not burn any bridges.

Have you had a successful partnership experience with a competitor? Or a dueling team member? What strategies did you use to ensure that the relationship would end positively?