Getting Out...

I’ve written before about Guy Kawasaki, someone from my business past.  Great guy – no pun intended – truly a visionary.  He’s a wuss, though, since he’d be a natural at blogging, and blogging would be an awesome vehicle for his thoughts and ideas.  But, I digress…

Saw this interesting post on partnership agreements, and why you should include an “out” clause in most/all, and why you shouldn’t necessarily have to give up your first born to do so.  Partnership agreements are only as good as the intention that helps form them, paper they’re printed on, and the collective law departments of the parties involved.  Guy is quoted in the post from The Art of the Start…

Not having been present when such an agreement is struck can present a down-the-road dilemma – “yes, I know what the agreement SAYS, but what is/was the INTENT?  And what does the other party expect this actually MEANS?”  Not a happy place to be, particularly when one party wants to press an issue.  But I guarantee it will happen if you do many deals…

An excellent indicator of relationship trouble between a customer and consultant is whether anyone has their nose in the details of the agreement at any given moment.  This has proven an excellent bellwether in all sorts of partnership and alliance situations, too.  If you’re reaching for your copy of the contract to figure out who’s supposed to be doing what or to interpret terms, give yourself a subtle warning that things are already going wrong.