It Takes Two, Baby
Of course, there is a happy medium between working on your lonesome to come up with creative ideas and being part of a gang. And that’s working with a partner. Many of the problems found with the group dynamic disappear while still providing the benefits of having someone to bounce ideas off and adding a different perspective. Think Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lennon and McCartney, Rice and Lloyd Webber, Bernstein and Sondheim, Black and Scholes, or The Captain and Tennille.
Paul Allen started Microsoft with Bill Gates, which made him one of the richest men in the world. As he told Business Playground: ‘I was lucky to find an ideal partner in Bill Gates. He was more intrigued by the business side of things, and I wanted to focus on the technology side, so we complemented one another really well.’ (For more of his interview, see Chapter 3.)