My friend professional speaker and author Scott Friedman has a mantra for working with others. As he explores how they will work together, he asks, “What does your perfect world look like for our working together?”
The person then explains what needs to happen — or not happen — to be their idea of the perfect situation relating to the job or project.
He says, “I’m going to do everything I can to make your perfect world happen. And here’s mine.” He then explains what would be the perfect scenario for him.
It’s amazing what it creates.
People are enthusiastic about the partnership as they know he’s going to work hard to provide their perfect situation. And he’s clear on what he would like so they, too, can provide that for him.
If things start to veer from the perfect world, he can say, “This isn’t what we described as our perfect world. Do you want to modify the perfect world scenario or shall we reassess what we should be doing?”
Scott has used this when hiring assistants, working with partners and other colleagues. Try it with those you already work with or are exploring working together. See what develops.