The Power of an Agreement
July 29th, 2010 |
In business interactions you will be involved in signing agreements from time to time. An agreement is a document which acts as a record of what we have discussed and agreed on as a way forward. It is a binding document and shows the responsibilities of all parties in the agreement. It can be a sales agreement, insurance agreement, service level agreement etc. Always endeavor to read and understand the clauses in your agreement. Do not be quick surrender yourself to a document you do not understand. The point of agreement between two or more people is the point of power. It is at this point that all the parties concerned put their pen to the paper to signal that they do understand and agree to do what is promised within the given time-frame failure of which the punitive measures or consequences are enforced.
A few pointers
- Do not sign hastily - Why the rush to agree? An agreement means all parties concerned do actually agree to what is contained in the documents.
- Avoid cohesion - Avoid pushing someone to decide. Some people only make decisions after thorough considerations Respect the fact that people differ. Give others room to breathe.
- Read and understand - There is no point signing an agreement where some clauses are unclear. These are the clauses that turn around and haunt you all your life. Be very careful to read between the lines.
- Get lawyers to help - Lawyers are well positioned to read complicated documents and identifying loopholes or points for explanation. Lawyer are paid to do the seemingly complicated work for you leaving you to focus on your core business.
- Respect the agreement - An agreement is only useful to the degree which signing parties honor their word otherwise it is a piece of document not worthwhile to anyone.
- Keep your copy in a safe place - Don’t depend on other parties to keep the document. The day the agreement affects you is the day you need to have your own copy on hand in court. No one will release their especially if they are the defaulter.
- Avoid committing others in your agreement - Always endeavor to commit what you yourself can do and not commit people who are not knowledgeable about what you are doing. I always feel sorry on seeing husbands who die leaving agreements which the family did not know about.
- Always have a witness- you cannot be the only person in your circle who knows about the agreement. Have someone who can back you up in times of crisis.
Rabison Shumba is a writer, businessman and philanthropist. Writer of the book The Greatness Manual which you can preview on http://greatnessmanual.wordpress.com. Founder and CEO of Infotech Solutions and Greatness Factory Trust. Rabison speaks about success, leadership, motivation and inspiration. His trust works with disadvantaged school children supporting them with school fees and general livelihood. He also helps to network artists (musicians of all genres) to facilitate information sharing and building of future celebrities. Rabison is well traveled having been to Asia, America, United Kingdom and all over Africa. He is married to Jacqueline Edwards and they have two children. They reside in Harare, Zimbabwe, Southern Africa.
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