Sticking together Nov 13 2010 P68 N2P71 共同経営者、パートナー
Few people will read Keith Richards's book, ゛Life゛, for its insights on business. There are for more exciting things to learn about. (中略)
But ゛Life゛ does nevertheless throw light on one of the most intriguing problems in business - how to keep a creative partnership alive. The music business ゛is one of the sleaziest business there is゛, Mr Richards argues, only one step above gangsterism. Most partnerships, from Lennon and McCartney on down, are destroyed by a lethal cocktail of ego, greed and lust. But, for all their ups and downs, Keith Rechards and Mick Jagger have been in business together for half a century.
Most business pundits have little interesting to say about partnerships. Journalists focus on solo superstars - all those mighty chief executives and mould-breaking entrepreneurs. Management gurus fixate on the next big trend in such areas as innovation or business models. But there are signs that the subject is starting to get the attention it deserves. Michael Eisner, a former boss of Disney, devoted a recent book to it, ゛Working Together： Why Great Partnership Succeed゛.
A striking number of businesses were created by partners, despite alk the fuss made over lone geniuses. Where would Goldman have been without Sachs? Or Hewlett without Packard? Bill Gates worked with a succession of partners while he was at Microsoft - most notably Paul Allen and then Steve Ballmer - and now run his foundation with his wife, Melinda. (゛I've never done anything solo,゛ he told MrEisner, ゛except take tests゛.) Warren Buffett has worked with Chalie Munger, his sidekick, confidant and best friend, since before the Rolling Stones were formed. (中略)
There are few iron rules on why some partnership succeed where most fail. Messrs Buffett and Munger seem to get along effortlessly, as if joined by a chemical bond. Mr Gates, however, has had to work at his partners： after leaving the chief executive's chair at Microsoft he almost drove Mr Ballmer to distraction and the two had to make peace over dinner in 2001. But Mr Essner argues that there some general principles that increase the chances of success. Partners need to be able to trust each other absolutely. Mr Eisner notes that many successful partners split the profits down the middle regardless of their contribution to particular projects. Partners also need to possess a delicate balance between similarities and differences. A striking number of successful partners combine similar backgrounds with very different attitudes to fame. Messrs Buffett and Mungar are Midwesterners who grew up a few miles from each other. But Mr Buffett adores the limelight whereas Mr M
ungar prefers the shadows.
Mr Richards echoes many of those arguments. He also has some good advice on how to repair your partnership after it has been torn apart by money and fame. Messrs Jagger and Richards engaged the solidest partnership in the music industry： ゛Glimmer Twins゛, as they called themselves゛, who had fallen in love with American blues as teenagers in London. Mr Richards laid down the riffs and Mr Jagger provided the vocal pyrotechnics. But time took its toll. Mr Richard's decision to give up heroin destroyed the delicate devision of labour in which Mr Jagger took care of the details while Mr Richards took the drugs. Mr Jagger started to refer to the Stones as ゛his゛ band. He even performed the group's songs on solo tours. A formal break-up looked likely.
But in 1989 the twM decided to solve their problems in the same businesslike way as Messrs Gates and Ballmer. They met on neutral turf - Balbados - and thrashed out their differences. Three things helped them to succeed where so many other bands have split： their ゛under-rooted friendship゛, as Mr Richards puts it, forged in London in the 1960s； their recognition that they were much better together than apart (who remembers any of their solo work?)； and their mutual love of money.
There are clearly still tensions between the two： Mr Richards takes a perverse delight in mocking Sir Mick's ゛tiny todger゛, for example. But after 50 years as partners Mick and Keith still recognise that ゛I pull things out of him； he pulls things out of me.゛ At a time when the French are griping about raising the retirement age to 62 these doughty senior citizens (Mick is 67, Keith 66) contemplating yet another world tour.
