The most important thing you can do as a business leader is find the right team to help you run your company — cofounders, managers, directors, andbusiness partners all play a critical role in how your company moves forward. There aren’t hard and fast rules for what makes a good business partner, but the people (or companies) you choose to work with can have a massive impact on the success of your business. The perfect business partner has the exact same values as you, but the exact opposite strengths. The difference between someone good and someone truly incredible can mean the difference between a team that works well together and a team that truly complements each other. It may seem like a small difference, but a team of people that complement each other can have a compounding effect on your business.

Yet the way we find business partners has shifted at a macro-level. Gone are the days of hiring random acquaintances or turning business decisions into personal favors. Partnerships aren’t transactions anymore — they’re about two parties with a mutualinterest in strengthening one another. Understanding today’s partnerships as a two-way street is something I’ve thought about a lot as the cofounder of a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company. SaaS has upended the way software is bought and sold. Instead of paying a lump sum for an on-premise software product, customers use SaaS offerings as living components of the businesses that continually evolve based on their feedback to better support their needs. Today’s business partnerships work the same way — they’re relationships developed from a consistent stream of communication that lets both parties deeply understand each other’s priorities and provide better support where it’s most needed.

When you’re seeking a new business partner, you’re looking for someone who shares your vision for the business, but excels in the areas you fall short. Identifying people with complementary approaches ensures every part of your company is supported–something that becomes especially critical when you’re planning for growth. To support this concept, here are four tips I’ve learned from cofounding a global technology company:

Know yourself first

Be painfully honest and work to identify your own strengths and values, so you can find partners that counterbalance your strong suits and advance your highest priorities.

Tap into your network

If there are people whose work or expertise you respect, reach out to them — it’s likely that they’ll deliver that same value to you. Deepening thosepersonal connections early on can pay off later if they result in new partnerships. And contrary to popular belief, I suggest not relying on your gut — you need to truly understand the people you’re entrusting with the future of your business to ensure they’re the right fit.

Be open to new things

Deliberately pick partners that see things that might not be immediately obvious to you. Hear them out, even if their ideas seem strange to you at first. Those ideas might end up benefiting your business in a wayyou never thought was possible.

Communication is key

Work relationships are not unlike personal relationships — they require work. In the beginning you can sit around for hours discussing ideas, but over time this type of communication requires more work; especially when it comes to difficult conversations. But these conversations need to happen, they will foster the trust needed to keep you united through thick and thin.

作为公司负责人，你能做的最重要的事就是找到合适的团队来帮你进行经营。就公司如何向前迈进而言，联合创始人、经理、董事和生意伙伴都发挥着关键作用。好的生意伙伴并无硬性标准，但你选择与之合作的人（或公司）将对贵公司的成功产生巨大影响。

完美生意伙伴的价值和你一模一样，优势则和你恰好相反。好成员和真正了不起的成员之间的差别在于，前者组成的团队能很好地合作，而后者组成的团队能真正形成互补。这样的差距看似很小，但互补性团队能在贵公司发挥全面效应。

但从宏观层面而言，寻找生意伙伴的方法已经改变。随便聘请一些熟人或者把商业决策变成个人爱好的日子已经一去不复返。合作不再是交易，其内容已经变成有共同利益的双方相互增强对方的实力。

作为一家软件即服务（SaaS）公司的创始人，我经常想到的一个问题就是要把如今的合作看成一条双向道路。SaaS改变了买卖软件的方式。消费者不再需要为本地软件投入大量资金。相反，SaaS服务会成为企业的一个有机组成部分，而且会基于用户反馈不断地改进，以便更好地满足他们的需求。

如今的商业合作也采用同样的方式。这种关系建立在不间断的沟通之上。这样的沟通能让双方深刻理解对方的首要任务，并更好地在对方最需要的地方提供支持。

寻找新的生意伙伴时，他的公司愿景应该和你一样，而且在你不擅长的领域，他应该是佼佼者。锁定互补型伙伴将确保贵公司的所有部门都获得支持。在你制定发展规划时，这一点就会变得格外关键。

在和别人共同创立这家全球性科技公司的过程中，我有以下四点体会，恰能作为上述观点的“操作建议”：

1、先要了解自己

绝对坦诚，设法发现自己的优势和价值，这样就可以找到可以和你的优势形成互补的伙伴，从而推进你的首要任务。

2、开发人脉

如果敬重某些人的工作或资质，就去接触他们，后者很可能为你带来同样的价值。如果他们成为新的伙伴，此前与之加深关系的举措会在以后带来回报。和普遍看法不同的是，我建议大家不要依靠直觉。你把公司的未来寄托在这些人身上，所以要真正了解他们，以确保找到了合适的人。

3、对新事物持开放态度

如果有人能看到你也许无法立即看清的东西，就要特意挑选他们作为伙伴。就算他们的想法乍看上去很奇怪，也要听他们把话说完。这些想法最终可能通过一些你永远也想不到的方式让贵公司受益。

4、沟通是关键

工作关系和个人关系不同，你得为前者做功课。最初你们可以坐下来，就各自的想法畅谈几个小时。但渐渐地，你就得为这样的沟通做更多的功课，特别是涉及到一些困难话题的时候。你们必须进行这样的对话，这样做可以加深信任，让你们团结一心，甘苦与共。（财富中文网）

本文作者Alastair Mitchell是云协作软件公司Huddle总裁兼创始人。

译者：Charlie

校对：詹妮