Is success an issue of alignment?

I was discussing why partnerships and business relationships breakdown today and found myself referring back to some thoughts I had a while ago.

Given that so many business relationships breakdown (leading the stresses in the business and possibly leading to actual business failure) I realised how important work in this area might be.

In discussion today, we were reviewing all the relationships that had gone sour that we knew of and found it came down to three key reasons:

1. Breakdown in the alignment of personal values
Friendships in business are often based on shared personal values, or at the very least a mutual respect for each other, and if this is broken then it becomes very difficult for people to work together - starting often with an inability for individuals to listen to each other, which leads to bigger problems. This is about TRUST

2. Breakdown in the alignment of business values
The second biggest reason for failure in business relationships we felt were a breakdown in the business values - the way that people wanted to run the business. If one person wants to focus on selling 'anything the customer wants' - working with someone who wants to sell a 'quality and focused product' can be difficult. Also, the way they want to run the business (say, one wanting to sell and run and the other wanting to build long-term relationships), this leads to communication problems and ultimately to a breakdown in the relationship. This is about FOCUS.

3. Difference of Opinion about the Future of the Business
Having a shared vision for the business is the next most important reason for success, and breaking it is the third reason for relationship breakdown. One partner/director who wants the business to grow 20% per week will not be able to work successfully with someone who only wants to achieve a 'lifestyle' and therefore does not see growth as important). This leads to stresses in the business and ultimately to relationship breakdown. This is about VISION.

I am not putting this forward as a scientifically vigorous researched answer, only something that is based on some difficult experiences and I would welcome your thoughts on these issues too - what is your experience?