Question: I can't stand my boss. I used to just hate him, but now things are worse and I ignore him. My productivity is hampered by the situation and in the long term it may cause me to lose my job. Is there anything I can do?

Roman: If you really hate your boss, the situation has almost no good place to go. You should be concerned about the short-term results of your feelings, since it shouldn't take long for your boss to act, especially if he can point to your falling productivity. He must be aware of your disdain, since you've been ignoring him. Most people don't like being ignored and if he has power over you, you're the one who has the most to lose.

It may be wise to arrange a meeting with your boss to see if the situation can be improved. Perhaps there are remedies for the way in which you two interact. Try to find some common ground that would allow you to work for your boss without such strong negative feelings. Before the meeting, ask a few co-workers whom you trust about how you should behave and what you should be willing to compromise in the interest of a better working relationship. If you have a good rapport with someone higher up in the organization, see if he or she might be able to offer you helpful advice on how to proceed.

Your boss may be an unlikable person, but you'd be wise to determine what part of this problem you own and what you can do to change your feelings. Otherwise, you should immediately begin researching other options at the company or look for another job at another organization.

Question: A partner and I are starting a company together. How can I make sure I get along with her?

Hans: When launching a new business with a partner, it's imperative that you have identical values in terms of honesty, work ethic, customer service and goals. You don't want a relationship in which one partner is willing to work long hours to get the job done and the other wants to put in only the minimum required. It won't work well if one partner believes pleasing the customer is essential and the other doesn't care how the customer feels after a sale is made. When there's a significant mismatch in any of these areas it will become apparent in the course of everyday interaction, and resentment will begin to grow until the partnership breaks down and becomes unworkable.

It's also important to choose a partner who complements some of the skills and talents you have so that the work can be evenly distributed based on the strengths that each of you possess. If one of you is good at sales, the other should be good at administrative details. If one of you has vision and is good at forecasting marketing trends, the other should be well grounded in the practical realities of running the shop. If most of your best skills are the same, the holes in your daily operation will become apparent quickly.

Further, you'll want to make sure that you both understand the realities of undertaking this kind of venture. Find someone in your family or circle of friends who has launched a business in the past and talk with him or her about the pros and cons of starting your own business. This way you'll be better prepared to deal with the roadblocks and difficulties that are likely to come your way. Be realistic -- owning and operating your own business means lots of work. Make sure you both understand the enormous effort in front of you.

Finally, come up with a strategy at the start that will help you resolve the inevitable conflicts and disagreements that will arise from time to time. One option may be to recruit an impartial and unbiased third party to help you get over the humps and stay on track.

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