| Use a mediator. Your company attorney is a great start. As others have pointed out the 50/50 split can paralyze decision making. Getting your concerns (and your partners) in the open and accountable to a third party will start the ball rolling--and your mediator will help validate or deny your internal narrator's assertions. As an aside--you'd find "Managing Corporate Lifecycles" by Dr. Ichak Adizes a fascinating and relevant read. It talks through many of the concerns you express and offers solutions I've seen work wonders in practice. For instance, you express things like--"sales are down slightly" and "collegue waste[s] countless hours." I gather that you and your partner haven't delegated responsibility and authority in the area of sales. That is, who is _responsible_ for your sales? You? Your partner? And then, that person must get the authority to make decisions affecting sales. In practice, you would both make weekly/monthly/quarterly updates for the areas you are responsible (given the responsibility and authority over). If Jan 1 you agreed to give your partner authority for sales, they would give you a measurable commitment say 5% month over month increase this quarter. You would track progress in the W/M/Q meetings, but would get no direct authority over their technique (if wasting time works for them...). This doesn't mean you'd get no _say_ in things regarding sales. It means you'd only be an influencer, but have no decision-making authority. Maybe you find after a quarter that you the numbers aren't getting met by your partner. Then you discuss remedies--which might include hiring a salesperson or you taking on the role. Anyway--all of this is great if you are hitting organizational issues in your growth, but have a strong backbone of a relationship that first brought you together so strongly and has helped you build a successful business. If there are other systemic issues you'll have to address them too. Congratulations on growing your business to this stage. These are some of the better problems you can have! |