Dear Josh: My Partner And I Have Great Chemistry, But I'm Doing All The Work. Can We Make It As A Team?

By Joshua Wolf Shenk

Joshua Wolf Shenk, author of Powers of Two: Seeking the Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs, offers advice on forging great creative relationships. Today: One is a rock star, the other a work horse--can it work?

From August 4 to 8, Fast Company is hosting the Creative Counselor, who offers advice on how to forge and maintain great creative relationships. The Counselor, aka Joshua Wolf Shenk, is the author of the new book, Powers of Two: Seeking the Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs. He's spent five years studying the most famous and productive creative partnerships, from John Lennon and Paul McCartney to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak to Marie and Pierre Curie, comparing the common points of these stories with the latest in science and psychology. And now, he's here to help you make the most of your creative collaboration.

Here, the Counselor advises one half of a creative pairing that's heavy on chemistry, but out of balance--one partner is supplying the sparks but the other is doing the heavy lifting. Can a partnership run on magic? Or will the get-it-done member of the team end up being exploited?

Dear Josh,

I’m an entrepreneur in the food world and a few years ago I created a series of pop-up restaurants with a manager I’ll call Kate. When we got going, the chemistry was immediate. The business was fabulous--we did 200-some dinners with 40 or so chefs--but beyond that, there’s just this electricity around us. We started getting approached by agents and managers and production companies to do a TV show. Our communication is crazy good. And we just naturally find our roles and switch: good cop and bad cop, awkward and not awkward. Whatever it is, we know what the other one is going to do.
The problem is that I did so much more work than her--from booking the chefs to managing accounts to marketing and PR. When we came out of the pop-up and were going to open a new place, she said she’d do the P&L. She said, “I know you’re a little wary of me, so let me give you a deadline.” But it came and went three times and she just never delivered.

Now I’m on another project. Kate and I are good friends but I don’t know whether I want to work with her again. The potential is so much greater with her than with anyone that I’ve ever worked with. But the risk is also much higher, too. She does bring skills--but I could hire someone equivalent for much less than 50% of a venture.So my main question is how much do I value the magic? And if we do proceed, how do I work with her?

Signed,

Chemistry Experiment

Dear Experiment,

You should value magic a hell of a lot. The fact that it’s not obvious to an accomplished entrepreneur says a lot about how poorly our culture understands the real engine of creativity. It’s not gumption, or originality, or talent, or executive ability. It’s all the ways these qualities get activated--which almost always depends, in one way or another, on an electric connection.

But if feeling electricity can be as potent as plugging into a socket, it can also be as jarring as a shock. A mad great partner is often maddening. When Sergey Brin and Larry Page first met, they broke into an argument; the writer John Battelle has described them as “two swords sharpening each other.”
So, asking yourself whether it’s worth it--I think that’s actually a sign that you’re in a partnership that’s worth it. Creative connection is much like love that way. Your second question is the interesting one--what do you do now?

The main thing is give up the idea that a profoundly mutual enterprise needs also be symmetrical in terms of power. It never is, not completely, and it may be that your biggest piece of work is getting comfortable with that, and finding a way to dominate Kate in a way that still keeps the energy flowing.

It sounds like you’re an adept producer and that she’s the sort of talent that brings an intangible value. It sounds like you’re more ordered and organized and she’s more free-flowing and associative. So you need to be open to the risk of being involved with her--but she needs to be held accountable.

One very effective way would be for her to have to show up and play or face some consequences. Maybe she is an employee to whom you pay a salary. Maybe you split profits but keep a controlling interest. It might mean that on paper everything is equal but you just find a way to take the wheel.

Ironically, one of the best ways for you to structure an arrangement that works best for you is to really think about her, first. What arrangement would help her do her best work?

I don’t mean that you should hedge your bet. The point is to maximize the potential of your ability to operate together. And no matter what, if you stick with Kate, you’ll be vulnerable. Magic is of infinite value, but the price you pay for it is that you’re at someone else’s mercy. There’s a good reason why people prefer to be alone and less powerful. The moment you recognize someone is indispensable, you have to put up with her shit.

Now go connect.

Warmly yours,

The Creative Counselor