NOTE: this was a past issue of my weekly newsletter, Timeless Gems. Join my free mailing list so you don’t miss out on future issues.
Today’s gem is this article snippet on how Canadian billionaire Jim Pattison has had the same Administrative Assistant for 60+ years.
Long-term business relationships like this truly fascinate me. Another example is Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger who’ve worked together for 60+ years.
What’s the longest close business relationship you have?
I’ve worked with Nadir, my business partner for my eCommerce business, for 7 consecutive years now. Also, though not consecutive years, my colleague Ryan, Principal at Atlasview Equity, and I have worked together on and off for 8 years now.
I’m a big proponent of playing long-term games with long-term people. Even if the games evolve or change over time, I would love for the people I play these games with to remain the same. For me, all of my best memories building businesses have always been shared with people I enjoy working with. Sure, money is the main reason anyone’s in business, but I believe having a blast with people you enjoy working with is equally important. Never sacrifice the latter for the former. Or said differently, never put up with as*holes, no matter how lucrative it may appear.
The snippet is from this article, which I recommend reading. Jim Pattison has had a tremendous career, building a massive empire from nothing, all while managing to stay married to the same person for 70+ years (he’s clearly a fan of longevity!).
