Today we are focusing on the relationships between co-founders and teams and some basic principles to guide the way we look at others. Human beings are flawed and how we accept others and understand their differences has great impact.

In any team or co-founder situation there will be times that the quirks of others will cause stress in our relationships over time. Being aligned on fundamental values early on can keep those relationships on course as we deal with the differences that often arise through the little things.

Accepting others for who they are is a the key to riding out some of the difficult times in a relationship.  In this episode we talk further on that belief, including these ideas and hacks to work with people we might perceive to be difficult:

Why it’s important to not get too excited about people

What it means to throw people into the deep end and how it leads to understanding

The need for open and early communication

How being a tattletale to the person about their own behavior can help

Avoiding the snowball effect of small issues

The importance of empathy

Today’s Tips:

Steli:  As an experiment, for the next 30 days don’t criticize somebody either externally or internally.  Stopping the inner dialogue can lead to interesting resolutions.

Also, in your team find one little thing that irritates you and talk about it to the other person with an attempt to find common ground.  It could lead to helping others improve or allowing you to feel differently about it.

Hiten: Whatever you’re thinking, think the opposite and think about what would happen if the opposite was true. You may find having the two opposing thoughts will allow you to be less judgemental.

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