Thinking back, when was the last time you took a working relationship for granted?
When we work with the same people day in and day out, we get comfortable with who they are and what they do for us – which means we may easily lose sight of the tremendous value these people bring to the table. And when that happens, we may fail to take the necessary steps to protect the relationship.
Although it may not seem like it, one of the primary threats that can damage the goodwill between you and your trusted vendor, consultant or mentor is your own employees. If you want to maintain your most valuable working relationships, step one is to pick your team members accordingly.
After all, you may have been the one to bring those outside parties in, but you can’t always be the one to interact with them. Your employees should be able to act as an extension of you, espousing the values of the business as a whole and driving progress toward the goals you’ve identified.
If the employee in question isn’t aligned with you and the rest of the team in those ways, what’s at stake?
Well, for starters, the relationships you have with the consultants and vendors and outside figures who keep your business moving forward.
But it’s not as simple as that. If you lose those good working relationships, you may also be losing the support system that’s going to carry you through your next big move, whether that looks like an important acquisition, your exit from the business, or some other important event in the future of your organization.
This is an issue I’ve actually personally run into – TurboExecs nearly cut ties with a client who had us working with one single disrespectful employee…and that loss would have seriously impacted the value of this client’s business ahead of an integral merger. You can find the full story here.
All this is to say that who you bring to your team has consequences that may ripple out beyond your immediate workplace. Keep your most valuable working relationships top-of-mind if you want to keep them at all.
Best,
Patty
P.S. When you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you grow your business (and its value.)
1. Read on with another blog post about who should be running your financial management.
Just because “CPA” and “CFO” sound similar doesn’t mean their jobs are interchangeable. Too many business owners rely on their CPA to do every piece of their financial management – which almost always lands the business in some serious hot water. Let TurboExecs shed some light on the subject here.
2. Get to know me and the TurboExecs team on LinkedIn.
We do so much more than supporting companies through due diligence. My LinkedIn page features financial management advice, red flags you’ll want to know about as you run your business, and special access to free resources from TurboExecs. Connect with us here.
3. Work with us to get your financial clarity, control and confidence back – and grow your business without all the chaos.
Our team excels at putting business owners back in the driver’s seat of their organization with better reports, the right people on their team, and a customized path forward (and that’s just the start.) Contact us to get started.