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Once upon a time there was an enterprising businessman who had a brilliant idea. He thought he had devised a way to build the perfect automobile.
He hired young engineers and told them to buy one of the world’s model cars and take them apart, taking the best part of each car and putting it in a special room. Soon, the room was filled with parts – the best carburetor, the best brakes, the best steering, the transmission and so on. It was an impressive collection of over 5,000 pieces in total.
The merchant then arranged for all the goods to fit in one car. There was only one problem: the car did not work – the parts did not work together.
The point is, you can have a group of all-stars with great individuality, but they don’t equate to a group of people with a common purpose and consensus.
My definition of teamwork is a group of diverse individuals who respect each other and strive for each other’s success.
Teamwork sometimes requires people to play roles that are not as attractive as they would like.
There is the story of the symphony conductor who was asked which instrument was the most difficult to play. Without missing a beat, the director said, “I can get a lot of second violins. But finding someone to play second fiddle with passion is a real problem. If we don’t have a second fiddle, we won’t have a deal.”
Teamwork is avoided by most people in business because they fear it deeply. They think it makes them anonymous or invisible.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
That’s why a team with the most stars in sports doesn’t win championships. From the late ’50s to the mid-’70s, the Boston Celtics won 13 NBA championships without the league’s leading scorer. They did an amazing job as a team. The leader of the Celtics during that era was the recently deceased Bill Russell. Russell was a first-team player, but in 1980 he was voted the greatest player in NBA history by the Basketball Writers.
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships,” said the player many consider the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) Michael Jordan.
This advice extends beyond the sports field. Your company works as a team or is headed to the shower.
American industry became a world leader when it developed the assembly line, a concept that combines human and robotic capabilities to this day. Teamwork is critical to success, and that hasn’t changed over the years.
There is no better example of cooperation than a good marriage. Many years ago in Austria there was a custom of the villagers to help the newlyweds to increase their future happiness. After the marriage ceremony at the local church, the villagers escort the bride and groom to a nearby forest where they stand in front of a large tree and ask the couple to cut down the tree with a double-handled saw. Down. With the bride sawing at one end and the groom at the other, the villagers watched as the young couple sawed through the tree.
The closer the cooperation between husband and wife, the shorter the time it takes for the tree to come down. And the shorter the older villagers’ time, the happier the young couple – because they realize that teamwork is more valuable than the lessons in marriage, and they think wisely!
Mackay’s moral: Don’t aspire to be the best on The group. Aspire to be the best b The group.
Harvey Mackay is a Minneapolis businessman. Contact him at 612-378-6202 or email harvey@mackay.com.
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