While occasional conflict between partners is a sign of a healthy business, and while
some business partners just have high volume communication styles, persistent
issues may indicate deeper problems. On the other hand, if partners never disagree,
it may mean they are avoiding conflict. If you are concerned, you can ask yourself (and your partner) a few questions:
- Do you feel taken advantage of because your partners are not contributing
evenly to the business? - Do you feel your partners take more of the financial pie than they should?
Do you feel you take less of the financial pie than you should? - Do you and your partners find yourselves stepping on each other’s toes
because you are not in total agreement about the roles you play in the
business? - Are important tasks neglected because none of you assumes responsibility?
Do your partners fail to fulfill their obligations? - Are you or your partners reluctant to sign legal documentation about the
business (like a shareholders agreement, partnership agreement or limited
liability company agreement) that spells out your rights and
responsibilities? - Do you think that the titles you have accurately reflect your contributions to
the business and the roles you play, or that one of you should have a title
that sounds more important to the outside world? For instance, if there are
two “managing partners,” should one of you really be the CEO? - Have you talked openly about whether one of you should leave the business?
Was the conversation serious or a pretext for something else? - Do your partners often insist on their way, disregarding your objections?
- Do you frequently believe your partners’ actions are incorrect or
inadequate? - Do your partners undermine you if they disagree with your approach?
- Are your interpersonal styles so mismatched that working together can be
difficult? For instance, does one partner tend to be quiet, formal and
organized while you tend to be excitable, informal and spontaneous? Does
another partner leap too quickly to decisions for your taste or get lost in
indecisiveness? - Do you or your partners play the blame game if something goes wrong or
speak negatively of the other behind each other’s back? - Do you get the sense that one of your partners is delaying work or billing
because they might be planning to leave the business? - Do you suspect improper or fraudulent activities? There are often concerns
about what lawyers call “fraud, conversion and breach of fiduciary duty”
long before anyone consults counsel. - Do you feel marginalized or put down by one of your partners in interactions
with customers, suppliers, employees or third party advisors? - Is one of your partners reluctant to share company financial or other
important business records? - Are there genuine financial troubles? Even worse, are third party creditors
of the business chasing after you individually, whether you have personally
guaranteed their debt or not? - Does a partner exhibit irrational behavior, possibly based on unspoken
assumptions you do not share? - Are you and your partners more competitive than cooperative? Does that
work for you? - Is disdain part of the mix when you think about the way you and your
partner interact?
If you answered “yes” to a few of these questions, it may be time to look closely at
the situation so it is less likely to evolve into something more difficult. If more than
a few resonate, it may be time to take action before further conflict harms the
business. A management advisor, mediator or business lawyer may be able to help
you decide if you can fix the roots of the problem. And if many of these questions
trigger concern, it might be time to call on a business lawyer to help extricate you –
or your partner – and protect your rights.
If you are interested in learning how Coren Lichtenstein LLP can help with business
partnership issues, please contact Jeffrey N. Fink at jfink@cl-lawgroup.com