I've been thinking about this post for a week or two now. I had a disagreement with a company I was working with, over several items, including the contents of my Blog. I'd always thought about the blog and how it seems to be a private journal in so many ways, yet, obviously it's open to the entire Internet.
I enjoyed working with this other company (although no relationship is perfect -they all require sacrifice and compromise), but in the end, they thought it best that we part ways. I have no hard feelings for them, and actually offered my personal assistance during a transition period. What I am glad about is that I know things happen for a reason (at least that is my version or reality) and I take each hiccup as an experience to learn from.
One of my considerations is what to write in my blog.. Did I jeopardize my relationship by writing my thoughts in my blog, or is it simply and indication that we weren't a good match to work together and it is better for us both. I'm not pretending to have the answer, but it certainly reinforces the importance of remembering that his is a public forum, and there are issues that can arise, especially as I usually work in a 'client' environment and there is always potential for sensitive or conflicting information to be out there.
I've spent a lot of time reading other entrepreneurs and executive's blogs to see how they deal with this issue. The most common seems to be to speak in generalities when it comes to customers, or to use open examples (like.. Google made an announcement about support (or lack there of for Rich Media formats today.. (provide link).. that way I'm not discussing one of my clients - or at least not until after the project is 100% public... very interesting quandaries.
The end result is that although my most recent change was unexpected, I know that we will both persevere, and I will find a way to fill what I've lost, and it's my sincerest hopes that we all gained something from the experience and it makes us better people.
On a similar note.. I really enjoy reading Keith Ferrazzi's articles on relationships and networking on inc.com (http://www.inc.com/resources/sales/articles/20050901/ferrazzi.html) - his most recent is on 'Making Business Personal' and along the same lines as the issues I had, he shows that making it personal and ensuring that you have a good fit, you can also involve all of your activates, and even involve your family in your business, and he even feels that mixing clients, with each other, as well as with your friends and family only makes a relationship stronger - as you never know how much more personal that relationship can become and lead to unexpected successes for you as well as the unexpected others you might involve in your dealings. He says that by making all of your relationships personal (instead of having business relationships and personal relationships) that you then ensure that each relationship has the same quality standards, and you treat them all equally (with the benefit of spending more time with your family as they aren't excluded while you work too much! (a little humor here and there.. thanks for staying with me).
I've been accused of being a workaholic in the past - and I hope Mr. Ferrazzi's advice can be something that I implement and improve my own life and relationships with.
Happy New Year everyone.
Keith
