Every time I decide on a new adventure, I bet on myself.
I spend thousands of hours unseen. I am plotting. I am planning. I am obsessing over the back end of a strategy that may never see the light of day. In the life of a founder, many of these bets fail. They simply disappear. But some succeed.
When they do, we usually give credit to the drive. We talk about innovation. We talk about the persistence required to push through the noise. But there is a reason that drive is able to flourish in the first place.
There is a common saying about choosing the right partner in business. It is often cited as the most critical decision a leader makes. Warren Buffett famously said that you cannot make a good deal with a bad person.
This logic is not limited to the boardroom. It is the fundamental rule of the home.
The assumption is that business success is a solo pursuit of will. The reality is that the quality of your output is capped by the stability of your foundation. You cannot build a tall building on a swamp. You cannot scale a vision if you are constantly negotiating for peace in your private life.
I met my wife in Hollywood. At the time, I was not rich. She was on a stopover from Australia heading back to Canada. That was 2007. Since then, we have built a life that includes four kids and a dog.
She has been there for every business idea. She was there for every failed partnership and every painful pivot. She was there for the accolades and the joy, but more importantly, she was there when the plan was falling apart and the risk felt too heavy to carry.
In business strategy, we talk about risk mitigation. We talk about hedging our bets. But the greatest hedge against the volatility of the world is a partner who is compatible with your ambition.
Choosing a partner who does not understand the cost of a startup or the burden of leadership is a trade off that eventually leads to bankruptcy. Not just financial bankruptcy, but emotional bankruptcy.
When you marry a person who sees the world through the same lens of growth and resilience, you aren’t just gaining a companion. You are gaining a force multiplier. You are creating a space where innovation is allowed to flourish because the baseline of trust is never in question.
The consequence of a bad partnership is a divided focus. The benefit of the right one is a clear path.
Success is rarely a matter of individual brilliance. It is a matter of having a foundation that allows that brilliance to stay lit when the wind starts to blow.
Are you betting on yourself while ignoring the person standing next to you?
I am a Canadian insurance and investment professional and the President and Chief Executive Officer of Chazz Financial Inc. and Chazz Capital Assets. I write about leadership, markets, insurance, investing, and decision making, with a focus on how structure and incentives shape outcomes.
I hold a business degree and I am a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI®), a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), a Chartered Financial Planner®, a Certified Health Specialist and a Mutual Fund Investment Representative.
Leave a Reply