The Bruder Principles

Like most optimists, I'm easily excited by the prospect of something good happening. This is a wonderful disposition for staying happy, but it can be treacherous in business. If I get along with someone, I tend to trust them at their word.  Call it naiveté if you want, but I don’t understand why anyone would lie or exaggerate their capabilities.

 

Unfortunately, like most naïve, overly-trusting optimists, this has burned me on more than one occasion in business.  A perfect, and frequent example, is the case when someone, inspired by my work (or at least they say they are), approaches me with an offer to do something. Maybe they want to redesign the website, help boost sales, do some rebranding exercise, implement some better systems or figure out a social networking strategy.  They promise all the things I think I need, they say they are good at all the things I’m bad at, they have lots of time for all the things I have no time for and they have a list of wonderful clients and case studies that demonstrate how perfectly suited they are to help me “achieve my goals.”

 

On more than one occasion, I engaged in a business relationship with these well-intentioned souls and have found myself on the losing side of the equation.  Often the results fall well short of what I expected or hoped for (which is often very different than from what they expected).  For example, when someone said they could completely redo my website, I thought that meant everything, including the store interface.  Turned out, they don’t have much experience with building a really good online store – so everything looked nice, but my store still didn’t work as I hoped. These relationships never end well and I end up shelling out a lot of money and not getting what I thought I was going to get.

 

Since I learned the Bruder Principles, however, I’m proud to say this scenario no longer happens. 

 

Named after Ron Bruder, entrepreneur, philanthropist and my mentor, Bruder taught me a simple technique to ensure that the relationships I engage in offer true value and last for the long term.

 

1. Do a Background Check

Be it an individual or a company, it takes only a few minutes to google them and do a D&B check.  On more than one occasion I’ve discovered that a company was on shaky ground before we worked with them.

2. Slow Down

So many deals, especially between small companies, are done with excitement and optimism driving them. Simply slowing down the process reveals so much. I slowed down a deal that was going too fast and it completely changed the dynamic of the relationship.  The other party became more aggressive, more impatient with me.  They seemed a little too keen to get the contract signed quickly.  Good business relationships should not be built to go fast, they should be built to go far.

3. Start Small

No deal needs to be comprehensive from the start.  A new relationship should start small.  Doing so often reveals true intentions and, more importantly, allows you to test the relationship with less on the line.  Instead of a complete rebranding, for example, start with just a logo and see how it works out. I won't do a big deal with new relationships anymore. They all start small.

4. Don't Work With Anyone in Trouble

Pay close attention to the kinds of things that are causing someone stress. If they seem to be under financial stress, either their business is not doing well or they are having personal money issues, do not engage with them. You cannot have a productive business relationship when someone is panicked about where their next pay check will come from.  (note: there is a difference between not having a lot of money and being stressed about it).

 

These four simple principles have worked so well to protect me and my interests and I won’t do a single deal now without employing all of them.

 

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Comments

[Kmrjo]

This reminds me of a talk I saw recently about finances -- insofar as it connects :)

The guy speaking, Andy, says that the way that you set up your finances and manage your money responsible is, thinking in percentages and not amounts, you follow 3 rules:

Give. Save. Live.

Give -- don't assume that the money you earn is all for you. The first thing you do when you get a new paycheck is you give and invest in serving other people. Something like 10%.

Save -- pay off your debts. Pay your taxes. In more humorous terms, hoard! :P

Live -- decide what percentage of your income that you're going to live on -- this is tied to the Save part -- like 33% -- and then live on that.

His talk was amaaaaazing. And when you implement this it brings sooo much simplicity and clarity to life. Just have to say.

Anyway. That's all :)

[ray ban wayfarer]

Thanks Simon as ever such valuable information.
I would definitely go with #2.
I am still having difficulty with a consultant I engaged to help set up my coffee shop business but who has too much to do every time I contact him. In the end I have done much of the work. It is a definite goal in future to SLOW DOWN and get less enthusiastic with people.

[lacoste uk shop]

Your article really piqued my curiosity. I had to consider some of your unique ideas in order to think about them a bit. I agree in part with your views.

[swarovski rings]

t is so easy to be caught up with the excitement and hype that is often associated with a new product or some new venture - that is how people make sales in the first place. But taking the time to stop and evaluate the true essence of what is being agreed upon is sound business sense and does separate those who have good business practises from those that are simply good sales people.

[Ralph lauren Outlet]

this post really arouse a lot of thinking that we may easily ignore. but just try to think the way it is suggesting, we may get very inspiring concepts.

[merchantjohn]

Your article really piqued my curiosity. I had to consider some of your unique ideas in order to think about them a bit. I agree in part with your views.
Thank you for interesting content!

[John Lair]

I'm an amateur in business. For me, every starting business needs a lot of planning, and it's true we start from a small capital. Actually, there are some entrepreneurs who avail merchant cash advances loan because their savings are not enough to pay all expenses in starting a business. I think budgeting is a must for starting a business. Honestly, you'll get into trouble if you're not wise in spending money.

[C Trauer]

The blog was a fairly good read until I reached Item #4 of this post. From my perspective your message essentially promotes change for the masses and is not devoid of individual risks, including financial risk. While principle four may or may not be good advice, the principle in the context contrasts with the my basic understanding of your why.

[ken]

Boy -- this post is powerful!! It is so true...you have to know who you are dealing with, their backgorund, experience, mindset, finances, past skeletons...

I have learned from experience that it is easy to assume that all is well -- when it is not well at all...

Thanks for the great post!

[Paul Chisholm]

One of our values is 'build lasting relationships'. Your inspiration today was 'Good business relationships should not be built to go fast, they should be built to go far.' Couldn't agree more, thanks for adding the inspiration to our thinking. I can tell you that truly focusing on our values has been tremendously 'value - able'...sorry for this last bit!!!

[Ogp201]

It is so easy to be caught up with the excitement and hype that is often associated with a new product or some new venture - that is how people make sales in the first place. But taking the time to stop and evaluate the true essence of what is being agreed upon is sound business sense and does separate those who have good business practises from those that are simply good sales people.

Have a great day
Lisa :)

[Veda Horner]

I must remember the Bruder Principles, as I am a new entrepreneur and I still have not learned that most offers I receive are there just to hook me in.
Thanks Simon

[Nicole]

Seems like these principles carry over to personal friendships and romantic relationships as well.

[Laura Lee Bloor]

Thanks, Simon! I'd never heard of the Bruder principles, but I would emphasize No. 4. That's the one you can usually rely on your gut for. If something seems "off" about the person (such as they may be in some form of trouble that they are trying to hide) then usually your gut is right. I'm learning more and more to trust that instinct.

[sewa mobil]

Nice article, thanks for sharing.

[kare anderson]

It is somewhat different when someone offers to help another person increase the value of his "stuff" than we two or more people choose to seize an opportunity that matches the sweet spot of mutual benefit.
Then it is more about "us" yet the Bruder Principles are helpful still. Intrinsic motivation (Dan Pink) may be boosted when "we" are looking at "our" project/collaboration. And when we can define a top, actionable goal, how we can use our best talents together, establish some simple rules of engagement and who leads what part of the task then we are more likely to prove ourselves right - and succeed.
Methinks that self-organized project teams will grow increasingly popular in this complex, connected and bottom-up world where we need to stay relevant - with other.

[adam]

Thanks Simon as ever such valuable information.
I would definitely go with #2.
I am still having difficulty with a consultant I engaged to help set up my coffee shop business but who has too much to do every time I contact him. In the end I have done much of the work. It is a definite goal in future to SLOW DOWN and get less enthusiastic with people.

[MikeAPacifico]

Great post...as a first-time entrepreneur, I'd like to emphasize #1...in hindsight!