In today’s post we look at the strong relationship between golfers and their caddies and discuss the key ingredients for a successful business partnership
I am a golfer and follow golf more than any of the other professional sports. While I enjoy watching the incredible skill of the world’s best golfers, I equally admire the close relationship that exists between these golfers and their caddies. Caddies are in the golfer’s shadow content to let them shine. Their hard work is often overlooked. Everyone is aware of their responsibilities including hauling around the 40-pound bags in all kinds of weather conditions and keeping the yardage books. The most important part of their job is to help the golfer with course management. However, more than anything else, their primary purpose is emotional. They encourage the player when things are going badly and they help maintain a level emotional spirit when the excitement builds. Most of all, they become a friend off of the course.
Carl Jackson has been Hall of Fame golfer, Ben Crenshaw’s caddie for almost four decades at Augusta. Crenshaw described their relationship; “Some people don’t realize how good golf can be when you play the game with a caddy. It’s a solitary sport, but when you have a caddie with whom you have a rapport, with whom you can share and consult, you’re not alone out there.”
These elements are also essential for successful business partnerships along with some other key ingredients. Trust is the most important as you must be able to trust that your partner will make good decisions. If not, tensions will quickly build between the two of you. You must also be open with one another when you feel unsure about something. Mutual respect is extremely beneficial. When partners have defined expectations and understanding of each other’s strengths, they develop a mutual respect for each other. Each partner gets satisfaction from the other partner’s accomplishments and they encourage each other to reach their full potential. In addition, great two-way communication between partners will ensure that they achieve the best outcome. Finally, it is necessary to have common values such as integrity and hard work as they will determine how you run your business.
John Biasiello and I have been able to develop the type of relationship that is critical to the success of an organization. We are not two individuals who are working independently on our own engagements. We work together on each engagement as a team in order to conduct the most effective process. We are often asked what makes us different from other advisory firms. We believe that our individual skills and backgrounds are unique and that no single advisor in the business can match our backgrounds. The team approach makes us different. Other firms assign a senior member of the firm to the engagement, but most of the work is performed by a junior associate. At Sukay & Associates, 100% of the engagement will be conducted by the two of us.
Jim “Bones” Mackay (Phil Mickelson) and Steve Williams (Tiger Woods and Adam Scott) are the two most recognized caddies of the last several decades. The choice of advisors is similar to the choice of caddies. Would you rather hire Bones Mackay or the kid caddying as a summer job? Why not hire the best, there is plenty of business around for the rest.
