Smart Partners: Building Successful Relationships in Business and Life

This chatty, friendly how-to guide is a cheerful read for budding entrepreneurs looking for inspiration, but is unlikely to be a concrete help to most readers. Burba and Hayes, a married couple who cofounded the event-organizing company Burba Hotel Network, have put together the story of their rise to success, and what’s worked (and not worked) for them along the way. According to them, the greatest advantage in life is partnership, whether business or romantic. Using stories from their own work, they discuss the importance of attaining self-knowledge and self-understanding, how to choose a partner carefully, building a romantic relationship, treating people with kindness, building strong communication and negotiation skills, and always relying—first and foremost—on a strong sense of integrity. Their advice is largely philosophical rather than practical, and once readers accept the basic premise—that “no matter what business you’re in, you can transcend your sense of ‘me’ to create a very powerful ‘we’ ”—there’s simply not much more to absorb. Readers are likely to come away rooting for the authors’ success, but without many solid ideas of how to replicate it. [em](Sept.) [/em]