In this episode of the Forge Contractor Alliance, Josh and Joel sit down for a deep dive into one of the most difficult and defining topics for any business leader: partnership. Not the surface-level talk about revenue projections or financial models, but the real heart of partnership, people, values, alignment, and the long-term consequences of saying yes or no. The conversation begins with the tension so many CEOs feel when the spreadsheets say one thing but your gut says another. Once you start quantifying the benefits of merging, teaming up, or sharing ownership, it becomes easy to reduce everything to revenue, margins, and numbers you can present to a board. But those numbers are only one piece of a much more complicated picture. They explore what happens when owners are not involved in day-to-day operations, how different personalities measure success differently, and why generosity, trust, and shared vision matter just as much as the financial upside. Josh talks about the fear, uncertainty, and pressure to make the right decision, and how that often leads to paralysis. What if the partnership slows your growth? What if turning it down limits your potential? What if a new structure changes your role or steals the joy you once had in your work? Joel speaks to the responsibility of being a visionary and the weight of standing up, casting the future, and selling an idea to the people who share ownership with you, even when you know they may reject it. They both acknowledge a hard truth: you can model every scenario down to the penny and still overlook the most important factor — the people involved. Throughout the conversation, they unpack why partnerships succeed or fail even before anything is signed. They talk about thinking beyond dollars and looking at people, synergy, and long-term alignment. They dig into situations where partnerships double revenue but destroy your love for the job. They discuss how decisions affect not just owners but every person in the organization. They explore the difference between fears that are warnings and fears that are opportunities for growth. They talk about how rushing a decision out of fear can lead to regret and why clarity comes from mapping out roles, responsibilities, and expectations before saying yes. Joel and Josh also explore the challenges of giving up control, merging cultures, reconciling different motivations, and asking one essential question: whether this partnership will make you a better human, leader, and founder in five years. This episode is a candid, vulnerable, and practical look at what it really takes to evaluate partnership, acquisition, team mergers, shared ownership, and high-impact decisions that shape the future of a company and the people inside it. Original theme music composed and performed by - Ben Smith Produced by - Seth Steward Productions Co-produced by - Kalen Wookey Website: ⁠https://forgealliance.ca/⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/forgecontractoralliance⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575541841797⁠ X: ⁠https://x.com/forge_ca⁠ (@Forge_CA) / X