The commitment we make to a full partnership is to continue to respect each other and honor the partnership as a special relationship. The evolving partnership has a life of its own and requires all of the same life-sustaining efforts and energies as any other enterprise. The special power of the partnership derives from the fact that it is created by design, sustained by conscious diligence, and flourishes as a result of renewed commitment by the partners. Following are the key components of making a partnership work.

Active support of leaders. Appropriate team membership with equal participation. Common objectives. Clear boundaries and scope. Consensus and openness. Trust and mutual benefits.

A partnership isn’t valuable merely because it has the potential to be valuable. We err if we assume potential is destiny. In fact, most of a partnership’s success is based on our own human efforts—our combined vision, made real by our mutual inputs and nurtured by our human relationships. It’s a process of giving, investing, contributing, and combining what we have to create synergistic results.

Over the years we have come to understand why some partnerships flourish and some wither and die on the vine. This final article summarizes some of the “shoulds” and “should-nots” of forming an alliance. Let’s start with the should-nots.

MOST COMMON REASONS PARTNERSHIPS FAIL:Inappropriate team membership. Failure to address internal/external partnership issues. Inability to create a Win-Win Orientation in building common platforms. Failure of internal departments to support organizational partnership due to self-interest. Lack of internal partnerships, resulting in poor crossfunctional coordination.

Technical analysts get hot streaks. Famous analysts appear on all the business TV shows. They attract a large following of believers. Their pronouncements often move markets. Then, after a series of bad calls, they are considered buffoons. They still appear on the TV shows but are abused by interviewers for their bad calls.

Investors who seek certainty are attracted to these investment gurus. The gurus sell expensive newsletters and give expensive seminars. Investors who cannot handle the unmanageability and powerlessness in stock investing are willing to pay guru fees. Besides fees, technical analysis usually requires much buying and selling that incurs commissions and spreads.

Usually, followers find the gurus at the height of their popularity. This is when they are receiving the most publicity and are near the end of their hot streak. New converts then plunge into the inevitable cold streak and lose large sums of money.Emotion cannot be avoided in investing. We are all attached to our money. When values soar, our egos soar. Huge losses plummet all of us into anxiety, depression, regrets, resentments, and free-floating fear. No investment system will ever take all the emotion out of investing. The trick is to find investments within your emotional comfort zone. If you find technical analysis fun, despite recurring losses, then it is in your comfort zone. If you find the losses depress you too much, technical analysis is not within your comfort zone.

Before coming to market, initial public offerings (IPOs) must issue a  prospectus describing the company and its risks. Virtually every prospectus  I’ve ever seen is written in unreadable legalese. I doubt any analysts not  associated with the investment banks that wrote them bother to even glance  at them. The investment banks are paid unbelievable sums to underwrite  IPOs. Underwriters can make as much as $20 billion a year issuing IPOs.

After reading the prospectus, the analyst produces reports promoting the  issue. The report gets picked up in the chat rooms and the hype is on.  IPO prices can be manipulated in many ways by the issuers and the  underwriters. In addition to analyst reports, popular IPOs are sold by allocation  only to those willing to either buy additional shares after the IPO or  give additional business to the underwriters. With buyers in place before the  initial offering, the offering price can be raised increasing returns to the  issuer and the underwriter. When the price pops on the opening, insiders are  given the opportunity to unload shares at tremendous profits.

The only non-insiders who are happy with IPOs are volatility junkies. In  a bull market, many IPOs double and triple in price the day of the offering.  When their popularity wanes, they drop back to the initial price or lower. In  a bear market, new IPOs are rare. The few that come to market often  collapse below the IPO price. However, the investment bankers retain their  billions of profits.

IPOs can be thrilling and depressing. The winners make great chat on  the Internet and conversation at parties. Every once in a while, a winner  will grow into a great company such as Microsoft. The losers are just part  of the gamble for real speculators. Most investors will find IPOs outside  their comfort zone.

You must also think about unmanageability. A sense of unmanageability is common with investments. The causes of unmanageability are many but usually center around investment professionals and investment institutions.

Insurance salespeople may manipulate investors into high-commission, highsurrender fee, and inappropriate variable annuities. The chosen mutual fund might have huge loads and high minimums. The online brokerage Web site may freeze during the market crash.

Unmanageability can also be subtle. For example, savers want to own money market funds in their 401(k) accounts. Often the company will only match their savings with company stock and will encourage them to convert their money market funds into more company stock. Then office politics dictate that anyone wishing to be promoted buy company stock in the 401(k) and accept options on company stock as compensation.

If you consistently get a tax refund every year, it means that you are having too much withheld from the paychecks that come into your household. While it’s always fun to have the government hand you a big check, it essentially means that you’ve loaned them some of your discretionary income, interest-free, for a year or more! If this is your situation, you need to talk to your accountant, financial planner, or employer about adjusting your withholding on your W-4. To calculate the correct number of exemptions to report on your W-4, visit the IRS website at www.IRS.gov and use their online withholding calculator.

Calculating discretionary income is simple. There’s no need to get out your protractor or call your friend with a Ph.D. in Economics. It’s a simple three-part formula that requires basic arithmetic. Once you burn this formula into your brain, you’ll begin to see every dollar that flows in and out of your household in a different light.

Discretionary income is calculated by taking your household total income and subtracting two kinds of expenses from it: fixed and variable expenses, which I’ll discuss in a moment.

On paper, it looks like this:
Total monthly income
– Fixed expenses
– Variable expenses
_______________________
= Discretionary income

That’s it!

Research options to reduce the total amount repaidon yourstudent loan.
- Ask if your loan holder offers benefits for automatic payments debited directly from your checking or savings account.
- Consider making payments during your grace period (Stafford loan) or post-enrollment deferment period (Grad PLUS loan), which will save you interest expenses over the life of the loan.
- If possible, pay more than the required monthly payment. Any additional amount you pay will reduce your outstanding principal balance, resulting in earlier payoff and lower interest costs over the life of your loan.
- Get organized. Carefully read all of your student loan-related correspondence and create a “my student loan” file to hold statements, notices and other important loan documents.
- Keep a phone log. Take notes when talking to your loan holder, including the date of each conversation, the name of the customer service representative who assisted you and a brief description of the conversation.