Name: Partnering
Rating: 4.2 (231 reviews)
Author: Jean Oelwang

What’s in it for me? Foster deep connections to maximize your impact.

We live in an individualistic society – one that encourages us to strive for individual success and self-sufficiency, even if it means jeopardizing our relationships with our colleagues and loved ones. As a result, we’re in a crisis of loneliness and many of us are unable to create meaningful relationships in our workplace or our personal lives. But if we look closer, the core of both a meaningful life and the success of an organization are enduring partnerships. Leaders like the founders of Innocent Drinks and the collective which teamed together to close the ozone hole have become the best version of themselves and maximized their positive impact through nourishing their relationships.

Whether you’re looking to cultivate a partnership in business or deepen your relationship with your friends, family, or romantic partners, you’ve come to the right place. In this Blink, you’ll learn the six principles of finding, building, and developing Deep Connections based on what Jean Oelwang has learned in over 60 interviews with business and life partners.

The path to a meaningful life is through Deep Connections.

At the time that she founded Virgin Unite, the charitable arm of the Virgin Group, Jean had two decades of career success under her belt. Before that, she’d helped start and develop mobile phone companies around the world. But the price of success had come with a cost. In order to prove herself as a successful female leader, she’d squeezed her friendships into calls from taxis and time with her family into fleeting fly-by visits.

Then one day in 2006, Jean got into a taxi in Johannesburg, South Africa with her friend Nicola Elliot and boss, Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, and she headed to a meeting that fundamentally changed the way she thought about relationships. The taxi was bringing them to meet Nelson Mandela and his wife, Graça Machel, to discuss potential candidates for the Elders, which is an organization founded by Mandela and Machel in partnership with Richard and the musician Peter Gabriel. The candidates for the new organization were global world leaders who’d work together to address global conflicts.

When they arrived in Houghton, a leafy suburb of Johannesburg, Nicola, Richard, and Jean were greeted by Graça, whose radiance and generosity made her seem immediately familiar. Graça had been an education minister of Mozambique, a freedom fighter, and now, an advocate for women and children internationally. She was soon joined by Mandela in the living room, who, with his bright smile and towering stature, immediately filled the room with joy. But the room was also filled with another energy: the love that Graça and Mandela shared with one another. More than a romantic love, this was a deep connection that lifted each of them up to better achieve their life purposes.

Over the course of the meeting, Mandela shared countless stories about friends such as the former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan and the former United States president Jimmy Carter. It was that day that Jean realized Mandela had become the figure he’s known to be through his relationships. The Deep Connections that great leaders have with one another enables them to create something larger than themselves. Instead of the rampant individualism that society wants us to believe in, she realized, the meaning of life must be created through the Deep Connections we nurture with others.

The discovery set the author on a 15-year exploration of what it takes to build Deep Connections and collaborative initiatives in order to positively impact the world.

Elevate your life purpose through cultivating meaningful relationships.

Most people think of purpose as a solo endeavor. But actually, the most meaningful change tends to happen when people come together. So, the First Degree of Connection is elevating your life purpose by cultivating meaningful partnerships. By cultivating meaningful relationships, we have the potential to become a part of something bigger than ourselves. And in some cases, sharing a purpose might even lead to impactful changes on the entire world.

Go all-in with your relationships.

The foundation of any successful relationship is knowing that you have each other’s back – no matter what happens. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Second Degree of Connection is going all-in with your relationships. An all-in relationship means creating a bond where you can be vulnerable and take risks because you know you are supported by unconditional love.

Cultivate collective connections through collaborative design principles.

We all know that we’re facing some pretty big issues in the world these days. Climate change, racism, inequality: each of these issues will require a massive effort of collaborative solutions. In many cases, solving these issues demands a diverse team of individuals which transcends nations and borders. And Deep Connections will be at the heart of overcoming these global issues.

Kernaussagen in Partnering

Worum geht es in Partnering?

Partnering (2022) looks at what it takes to develop deep connections in both business and personal relationships. Drawing from interviews with some of the world’s most legendary partnerships, including Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Nelson Mandela and Graça Machel, and the collective which saved the ozone, these blinks are a guide through the six principles of connection which can elevate your relationships and make an impact on the world.