Disagreements, conflicts, lawsuits, resentments, and sometimes just flat-out anger are, of course, not unique to bands.
The business world is littered with failed partnerships that happen every day. Whether it’s a small family business or giant corporate merger—more often than not things eventually go awry.
Why is this? Why do so many partnerships, whether a band, a business, or even a marriage ultimately end up failing?
This question was on my mind last week when I read that Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s business partner of 60 years, had died.
Unlike Hall and Oates, the partnership of Munger and Buffett successfully persevered through good times and bad. Not only were Charlie and Warren great business partners, but they somehow remained great friends as well.
What was their secret?
Most partnerships (nearly 80% of them in the business world) fail for common reasons.
Differing values, communication issues, undefined roles, diverging goals, and mismatched philosophies—all it takes one of these factors to occur, and conflict will ensue.
The Munger and Buffett duo managed to avoid these common pitfalls in very intentional ways.
First, their philosophies about business were aligned. They both were committed to a “value investing” approach as the cornerstone of their company. They started off from day one on the same page.
With their business approach aligned, they were able to work together in complementary but respectful ways.
In 2014, Warren Buffett shared that “Charlie and I have never had an argument. We’ve disagreed on a lot of things. And it’s just never led, and never will, lead to an argument. We argue with other people.”
The two billionaires also had similar communication styles. With a shared midwestern sense of humility and transparency when they did disagree, they communicated with a tone of humor and mutual respect. Munger once joked with Buffett, “you’ll end up agreeing with me because you’re smart, and I am right.”
So, with aligned business philosophies and an easy, respectful shared communication style, the partners were able to maintain a relationship that gave them a great chance of meeting their business and personal goals.
Which brings us to the final (but perhaps most important) ingredient of the duo’s unparalleled success: shared goals.
Both Munger and Buffett have been in it for the long-term. They’ve had a shared mutual vision of allocating capital to create long-term value for Berkshire Hathaway shareholders without taking heavy risks. This has been key to their successful partnership.
To be clear, Hall and Oates have nothing to be ashamed of. It would be hard to argue that their partnership has been a failure after having so much success over decades. Great music, fame, fortune—their achievements are impressive.
But the news of their legal battle just goes to show how fragile partnerships can be. A partnership gone bad can be an existential threat to an entire business (or band). And, it’s not an easy relationship to keep.
But as Charlie Munger says, “Just keep your head down and do your best.” Here’s to the great Charlie Munger, and all he did to show us how partnerships can succeed.
JJ Rosen is the founder of Atiba, a custom software development firm and Nashville IT support company. Visit Atiba.com for more info.
