Opinion

Powerful Partnerships

Monday, June 13, 2022

What makes for a good partner? In any relationship, there are both tangible and intangible things that make it work — it’s true in life; it’s true in business.

In life, we tend to keep close the people that “get us.” Those that hold us up when we are down, inspire and support us, and that we trust and respect knowing we will do the same for them. We find this with our family and friends and even co-workers.

When it comes to business, there are metrics attached too, the responsiveness and support through good times as well as the bad. And there is an emotional aspect to any relationship as well —your gut feeling and, again, your trust and respect, honesty and integrity.

I saw firsthand when this equation works well within our own industry while spending time with the folks at Hadinger Flooring, their customers and vendors at their annual golf tournament. Susan Hadinger and Chris Cosentino say “thank you” easily. And with a foundation of trust and respect, they are also able to have the tough conversations when needed. And while in Naples, woven through the business aspect — talking about product, delivery, performance and all of those important metrics — there is a deep friendship, a certain comradery. Even among competitors. That says something about the industry as well as the event’s hosts.

What are your metrics for a successful partnership? What matters most to you and your business and are those values able to guide who you do business with and who you do not? And, do you hold yourself to those same measurements, doing your part both with your customers but also your vendors?

Powerful partnerships can yield great successes. A solid alliance helps you navigate the challenges — of which there are many to face today. Over the last few years, we’ve heard stories of how people have come together to overcome obstacles in labor, supply and more. An investment in each other’s success is a clear cornerstone of a relationship that works.

We just released our 70^th Anniversary Issue — myself and the edit and production teams here are recovering from late nights, numerous meetings, conversations, interviews, writing, editing, laying out pages, proofing and getting the vision just right. We all could use some well-deserved down time. The team also deserves a huge high-five because the work was outstanding and even with the late hours, meetings, etc., there wasn’t a single grumble or complaint. No pulling back. No hesitation to step in and step up to do what was needed.

It was everybody all in, every day. Talent and tenacity, sharing and supporting and even some laughter — FCW is a team that trusts and respects each other. Sure, there are metrics to our performance — finding the story, hitting deadlines among other targets. But the things I’m most proud of come from the emotional side — the caring for each other and knowing they can lean on and depend on each other when it counts most. It was truly weeks and weeks of grace under pressure in action. Thank you to this dynamic team for what you do every day to make FCW as strong today as it was when it was launched 70 years ago.

We value hard work. We value each other. And, we value the relationships we’ve built within the industry — our retail readers, distributors, supplier partners, the associations. Each of you have helped shape the legacy of FCW.

And speaking of partnerships, I am personally blown away by the support and sentiment from our advertising partners for this milestone issue. Thank you for helping us celebrate 70!

Stay safe. Stay inspired.