Business Success Is Built on Relationships: Why We Rely on Mutual Trust
Companies often turn to technological advancements as a means for driving innovation and gaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace. While technology is critical to business success, it may take a backseat to another resource: trust. Building trust in a relationship — be it with a colleague, client, or partner — instills a level of confidence that can be of great advantage to a business.
For business partners, in particular, trust in a relationship can lead to better outcomes during the negotiation process, as neither party must spend time or energy protecting their own interests. When there’s trust, they know the other party won’t take advantage of them. Meetings become much more productive and focused on achieving mutual goals. That’s why trust is the foundation of any strong business relationship.
Take, for example, the strong business relationship I have with Thomas Sanford, a partner of Four Pillars Investors. Our partnership is the epitome of professionalism. Sure, we come to the table with different personalities and perspectives, but we each want to do right by the other. We want to make sure the other person is being treated fairly. As a result, we’ve been able to accomplish great things.
Why Building Strong Business Relationships Is One of Our Core Values
Relationships are the cornerstone for success. That’s one of our business’s founding beliefs. At first, we thought about selecting something related to what we do or hope to accomplish. But those are operations and goals, not core values. After going through an exercise to determine what principles are the most important to our business, I realized it was strong relationships built on trust.
Four Pillars Investors isn’t about creating some new product to sell to the masses. Rather, we need to convince business owners that we’d be good stewards of their business. We have to convince banks that our acquisitions are a good credit risk, and we have to explain to equity investors that we can earn them outsize returns. In our opinion, none of these things can be accomplished without building strong business relationships with all parties.
The Importance of Building Relationships That Overcome Change
It’s important to remember that business relationships shouldn’t be dependent on individuals. That can have negative consequences, as employees and company leadership may change over time. If a business relationship is built solely around a connection with an individual, what would happen if that person leaves the organization? Will the partner or customer leave as well?
Instead, we look for businesses built around a culture consistent with our belief that relationships are a cornerstone for success. Here are two indicators we keep an eye out for:
• Strong management teams. In our experience, a strong management team is often a sign of a company that builds solid relationships. It also allows our team to focus our efforts on what we do best: unlocking a company’s untapped potential to fuel growth and increase revenue for all stakeholders.
• Entrepreneurial approach. Being entrepreneurs ourselves, we know the approach involves a lot of relationship-building. It takes a lot to persevere in the marketplace. Without external support, it’s easy to lose ground. We know we can help these companies grow through our partnership.
The importance of building relationships based on trust should never be underestimated. Being open and candid with colleagues, clients, and partners provides a solid footing for a relationship to grow and become a renewable, sustainable resource that’s advantageous for all.