Sure, you need to love each other and not just in that ‘love ya’ sense that you save for friends and distant relatives. You need real, deep, committed love that touches you at a soul level. You see the other person through rose colored glasses. That somewhat unrealistic view of your mate is what brings you into the relationship.

What keeps you there? At a certain point, you must establish “the business of your relationship”. What will you accomplish together? How are you more effective as a couple than you may have been singly? This is the time to take the rose-colored glasses OFF. It’s the business of your life and you’re the CEO!

And while each of you is the CEO of your own life, there must be a duly appointed CEO of the relationship. You see this at work in every successful partnership. One person has to assume a leadership role. That doesn’t mean the other partner is unimportant, or even less important. It means that one person is ultimately responsible for making sure that all ‘departments’ of the partnership are functional and that everyone is doing their jobs.

So what are the jobs in the relationship partnership? It is quite similar to a business partnership - with an enhanced incentive package. If the business partnership works, so does the relationship.
We already discussed the role of the CEO. In order to effectively do their job, the Chief Executive Officer must make sure he or she has the right person in the right job based on what skills the parties bring to the relationship. In other words, what does the CEO have to work with? One of the first assignments, and most critical assignments, would be the CFO position. 

The Chief Financial Officer is the person placed in charge of the financial well-being of the partnership. Financial mismanagement is the greatest source of disharmony in relationship and the greatest cause of business failure. This position is not to be taken lightly. In order to be successful, the CFO must have support and cooperation from the other ‘departments’. Once financial goals are set, everyone works towards achieving them.

The CFO won’t have much to ‘account’ for if the partnership isn’t operating successfully. That brings us to the COO position. The Chief Operating Officer makes sure the day-to-day operations of the business run smoothly and that nothing conflicts with the goals that have been established. In a relationship, this might be the person that makes sure the house is maintained, the grounds are kept, and supplies are stocked. You need a strong base of operations to be most effective.

What other management roles do most well-run businesses require? The human resource manager keeps up morale and ensures that you have the right person in the right job. If the right person isn’t available, an evaluation would be made to determine if the skills missing in the current staff mix could be acquired by taking classes or training. It is almost always better to promote from within. Nowhere is this more true than in the business of relationship. The parties should be constantly growing together. Newly acquired skills not only make the individuals stronger and more valuable, but increase the value of the relationship partnership as well.

Marketing and public relations is also a big area of focus for any successful business. How is the business promoted? Are you accomplishing the goals set by the executive team? Are there skills or ‘products’ available that haven’t been capitalized on? Let’s take this concept back to your relationship.

Each person brings a certain skill set to the relationship partnership along with their dreams of how they might use their skills and individual talents to make the world a better place while creating a livelihood that brings them joy and fulfillment. The relationship can be the vehicle for realizing your dreams.

When you and your partner are evaluating the resources you have available, you will necessarily look to each person’s past experience and what roles they naturally gravitate towards. This will help you assign the positions that must be filled. If it’s just the two of you, each person will be required to wear several hats. 

Will one or the other have to acquire skills to balance the work load? If so, how will things be managed until the person is fully prepared to assume all the duties of their new job? Remember, the success of the business will be limited until every department is fully functional and working towards the goals of the whole. 

It has been said that success is empty if you have no one to share it with. The well-managed relationship provides you with the opportunity to be successful in every department of your life. 
What kind of partner are you? Are you doing everything you can to promote the relationship partnership? Are you willing to do the work necessary to grow and learn so that you can fill the role(s) assigned to you successfully? 

How have you best used the skills and talents of your partner? How have you made the most of your own gifts? So many of us aren’t using a fraction of the God-given talents available to us. There’s no time like the present to quit squandering the resources you’ve been given. Make the most of each day. Remember, together you can be greater than the sum of the parts.

Gala Gorman, is the ground-breaking author of What Would the Sage Do Now? A Spiritual Approach to Problem-Solving, is a CPA, holds a Master’s Degree in Human Development and is an executive coach. For information, contact Gala Gorman at: METACOMM MEDIA, (888) 886-4111, e-mail: Gala@MetaCommIntl.com  website: www.MetaCommMedia.com,