“We can’t do this without him. You can try, but you will fail… and I can’t let you fail”
A full-fledged crisis for the business led to the firing of the CEO, the COO, and the CFO. Our new auditors were demanding clean systems, written by IT in a way that they were stable and auditable, and untouchable by anyone but the auditors. Thus I found myself being forced to partner with a person who I thought had been one of the prime movers of the mess… and… I knew my partner was right. Without the partnership, we could try to duplicate them but I didn’t really understand the business, nor did I want to…
… partnership as a sign of weakness…
You have been told you are a strong leader, and somewhere along the way your Legacy is doing all of it. The strategy, the room, the stakeholders, the delivery. The people who get the most done almost never work that way. They find the person who runs the room better than they do, and they get out of the way. That choice becomes part of their Legacy, whether anyone writes it down or not.
…a Canadian kid who became the partner every big band wanted…
Daniel Lanois (at 17) with his brother Bob built a recording studio in their mother’s basement. When Brian Eno called to book time, Lanois had never heard of him, and told his brother to make sure they got some cash upfront.
By 1984 Eno had given up producing records, and U2 wanted him anyway. He brought Lanois to Dublin, reasoning that even if the band and Eno did not work out, they would still have a really good producer in the room. Lanois said the band was oblivious to his existence at first. His advantage, as he put it, was that he was a musician, too.
…a bass line in search of a song…
Mysterious Ways started as a rough demo. Bono called it “…a bass line in search of a song.” In Berlin, Bono and Lanois argued over it for more than 2 hours, hard enough that one engineer worried it would come to blows. The next morning Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois got to the studio before the band did and built the parts that got the song moving again. Find those who love doing something you are not good at, and let them partner with you…
…Bono said afterward that this was why he loved Danny so much: he cared about the record as much as, or more than, any band he worked with. Mysterious Ways reached #9 in the US and #13 in the UK. It won Lanois a share of the Record of the Year Grammy in 2001.
Out of the same sessions, at Lanois’ encouragement, the Edge played 2 chord progressions back-to-back, and the band found One. He co-produced The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, and he has won 7 Grammys, including Producer of the Year with Eno in 1993.
…what the Restatement taught me about partners…
Swallowing what I thought was my pride, Charanjiv brokered a partnership with this business leader. We both loved him so much that we were able to find a way to work together, and I am proud to say that our system was the first one to be into production, and to have passed the Sarbanes Oxley Audit paper work – which was still being sorted out.
What I swallowed was not my pride, it was my ego. Charanjiv was much better at actually running things, while I did all the outreach and “front man” duty. Like Bono, I was able to sing if the rest of the group could provide the foundation.
One of my Legacies is surrounding myself with people like Charanjiv – strong enough to stand up to my stubbornness, and also clear on what needs to happen. It doesn’t make what they say any easier to hear. But knowing that with people who can point out your blind spots when it is important helps you lead better.
…the list you hand across the table…
Most partnerships never say out loud who is better at what. So the one who fronts takes the credit, and the one who runs it takes the weekends. A list fixes that in a single afternoon, and it tells your partner that you have noticed.
Your “Simple… Not Easy” move: Write down 3 things your partner runs better than you do, and hand them the list.
If you would like help finding the partner who runs what you front, or saying so to the one you already have, schedule time with me here.
Hand over the list, then let the work find its own… Mysterious Ways
