What can Rattlesnakes teach us about getting out of a partnership?
A good friend of mine, Sean Fisher, has always joked about what he calls his “rattlesnake theory” when it comes to relationships.
Sometimes you get into a situation where you feel like you’re holding a rattlesnake. You don’t know what to do because you don’t want to keep holding onto it, but you can’t just throw it down and try to run away, either.
With the Rattlesnake, this one is incredibly obvious, but when your business partner puts you in a rattlesnake situation, it’s actually quite the opposite. It’s important to realize the difference between complaining, cursing and screaming versus calmly discussing, strategizing and gaming potential options.
It does no good to get angry when you’re holding a rattlesnake.
Avoid anyone who asks anything about your situation that resembles, “why don’t we just kill the rattlesnake?”
People who are mad at the rattlesnake won’t do you any good.
You may be tempted to start taking on more and more responsibility in an effort to persuade your partner to fall into line. This is a natural response for most of us, but it will only lead to more stress in the long run. Overcompensating for an inept or out of touch business partner is a long road to increased turmoil and animosity. Much like holding onto a rattlesnake too tightly and wasting valuable energy.
Squeezing a rattlesnake too tightly will wear you out and leave you exhausted . . .
and still holding a rattlesnake.
If you decided to throw down and run, where would you go? When we get into a “rattlesnake situation,” either in a partnership or a relationship, we tend to focus on the beast rather than on our own safety and well being. Before you take a next move, take time to look around at your options, exploring worst case scenarios.
Focusing on the rattlesnake won’t make it go away.
More often than not, you’ll find out that the level of anxiety, frustration and desperation you’re feeling are excessive when you ask yourself, “how badly could this go?” I mean, it’s bad, but you’re not really holding a rattlesnake, are you? When you think about where you stand and start to calmly move toward getting some help and imagining ideal results instead of possible scenarios, your path to freedom will become more clear to you.
Unlike the rattlesnake, your partner will probably be open to some level of compromise if you are able to gather your thoughts and present them in a calm and organized way.
Hopefully this puts things into perspective.
As an advisor, coach and local leader, Jeremy Overton has spent the last 12 years educating and motivating individuals, families, and business owners who are interested in having a greater impact on their communities, the people they love, and the causes they support. You can connect with him on: Google+