Napoleon Hill

Is there an “I” in Team?

there is a me in teamI once heard a story of a coach giving a beginning of the year pep talk to his young baseball players.  Trying to stress the importance of teamwork he said, “There is no ‘I’ in team.” After practice one player approached the coach and asked innocently, “Coach, my English teacher taught us that ‘I’ and ‘Me’ mean the same thing, there just used in different ways.  It wouldn’t be correct to say ‘Me is on the team’, the proper sentence would be ‘I am on the team.’ So there is an ‘I’ in team, and it’s me” 

This young baseball player may have misunderstood the coach’s initial statement.  However, he was exactly correct in his understanding of teamwork – its success is dependent on the individual success of each “Me.”

Teamwork does not discount the individual, it relies on their unique abilities working together.

“Teamwork divides the tasks and multiplies the success”

Each “Me” can’t do everything needed for success, and that is the great thing about teamwork. John Wooden said, “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do,” and Napoleon Hill said, “If you cannot do great things do small things in a great way.” It is the combination of individual talent that brings success to the team.

Each “Me” won’t be as successful alone as they will being part of a team.  This holds true whether you play Baseball or an individual sport like Tennis (think of the coach and racket manufacturer as part of the team), or if you work for a large corporation or for yourself as an Author (think of the publisher and Federal Express as part of the team).  The reality is that working together to accomplish a goal raises everyone’s success.   

“Teamwork is so important that it is virtually impossible for you to reach the heights of your capabilities… without becoming very good at it.”  – Brian Tracy

In answer to the title of this article, as our young Basaeball player said, “There is an ‘I’ in team, and its ‘Me.'”

 

Individual commitment to the greater goals.

Success - individual commitment to a group effortEveryone seeks to achieve success. Most people look at their own individual accomplishments to fulfill that desire. As the leader of a team, you are responsible for the success of the team. But it is the commitment of the individual that makes a team successful. It is therefore important to understand how you can achieve success for your team through the individual success of your team members.

Individuals focused only on their individual success may not be applying their talent to the tasks that will generate the most success for the team, and hence for them in the long run. While each person should use their talents to their fullest extent, long term success comes from not just focusing on individual success, but on how individual talent can be used for the success of the entire team.

“Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”– Vince Lombardi

Here are three areas for leaders to focus on when it comes to individual commitment to team success:

Explain the definition of team success. If you want your team members to have a commitment to something bigger than themselves, you have to describe what that team success will look like – in a detailed and vivid way. You are going for an emotional connection to the outcome. Something that your team members will be proud to be part of. Something they can visualize.

“Every well built house started with a definite plan in the form of blueprints.” – Napoleon Hill

Explain how the individual commitment will benefit the team success. Now that your team has a picture of the team success in mind, they need to know what part their individual talent and success will play. Your team members need to feel that their contribution is key to the ultimate team success they now envision. The team needs them to be individually successful as they do their part.

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” – Babe Ruth

Explain how everyone on the team will play a role in the team success. Picture of team success – check. Understanding of how what I do contributes to the success – check. Now comes the part that sometimes gets left out – how is everything else going to get done if I don’t do it myself? It’s not enough to just explain the total picture and the individual team member’s part, leaders must lay out the entire plan. Successful individuals want to know how the piece before them and after them is going to be successfully done so the team success will come.

“I can do things you cannot; you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” –Mother Teresa

It is only through the joining together of individual talents that we can achieve beyond our individual abilities. As Andrew Carnegie said, “Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to achieve uncommon results.”

 

Success follows action; action follows words

action

Leaders who seek success must first seek the right words. It’s been said that the beginning of any journey is the first step. Consider though, that before the first step is taken come the words that commit the traveler to the journey.

The impact of words on success:

Words can commit you to an action. Choose your words carefully or you may find yourself doing what you said just because you said it, not because it was right.

“The first step binds one to the second.” ~French Proverb

Words can convince others to follow your actions. Choose your words carefully as they will set the expectation for others’ actions.

“Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.” – Napoleon Hill

Words can continue past their intended use. Choose your words carefully as they will outlive the moment and may outlive you.

Remember the words of Mark Twain who said, “Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.”

Transformation through Imagination

imagine your futureI am a big fan of HGTV.  My family and I especially like two shows right now: Love it or List it, and Property Brothers.  While each of these shows has a unique premise, they share the common theme of transformation through imagination.

In Love it or List it the transformation begins when a family decides their home needs to be updated.  We watch as they are presented with two options: refurbish their home and stay there (Love it), or refurbish their home and sell it (List if) as they move into a new home.

In Property Brothers the transformation begins when a family decides they want a newer up to date home and are willing to buy a fixer-upper to get there.

Here’s how the transformation on these shows works: Each show starts with a discussion about what specifically the family wants as the experts help them imagine their future residence.

Then the experts show the family what it would take to obtain all they desire in a living space, like investment of money and time, choices between location and price. Next the experts show the home owners options that will fill their settled upon desires.  They use actual home visits and software that shows a vision of what a fixer-upper will transform into.

Once the decisions are made, the experts and the family design and execute the transformation of the family’s imagined living space.

I think I like these shows because they show what I have found to be the secret to a successful transformation – Imagination.

Napoleon Hill described the path to transformation like this, “First comes thought; then organization of that thought into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality.  The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.”

Here’s why imagination works:

If we only did what we knew how to do we wouldn’t get very far.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.  Knowledge is limited.  Imagination encircles the world.” – Albert Einstein

It doesn’t matter what you have or haven’t done, your imagination is the window to future possibilities.

“Live out of your imagination, not your history.” – Stephen Covey

Everything that is now common place was once an idea in someone’s head.

“What is now proved, was once imagined.” – William Blake

You will get better at imagining your future the more you do it.

“Imagination grows by exercise…” – W. Somerest Maugham

Leaders: What steps do you take when success seems to be a thing of the past?

steps to successYour team used to be a success.  Every project was delivered on time and under budget.  Team morale was high and you were the “Go-To Team.” You don’t know what happened but success now seems out of reach.

Here are three quick fixes that you may be tempted to try:

1-Just do more of what you are already doing.  It might not be working now, but maybe more of the same will bring success.  Grow more, spend more, centralize more, decentralize more.

2-Just ignore any negative data and amplify the positive data.  And if you don’t really understand the data find away to make it positive.

3-Just do something big and bold:  change the entire leadership team, launch a bold but untested strategy, dive into a radical transformation, roll out a hoped-for blockbuster product.

In his book Why the Mighty Fall Jim Collins shared stories of companies that tried these quick fixes.  You can tell from the title of his book that these companies did not achieve success.  Quick fixes never work for long term success.

“The elevator to success is out of order.  You’ll have to use the stairs…one step at a time.” – Joe Girard

Here are three steps that you should take to return to success:

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Leaders: Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

20130613-194535.jpgLet’s be clear, this isn’t a lecture on honesty; of course we must always tell the truth, that is a given. I am talking about leaders being open with real issues and real choices that need to be made. Your teams have a right to know what they are up against. They have a need to be part of the decision making process. They also have the best ideas about how to approach the issues.

Tell them what has happened. Tell them what is happening. Tell them what is going to happen.

But, before you jump right in and tell the truth, follow these three steps:

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Purpose, plan, people, and priorities – there can be no leadership without them

DenispostWhether you are leading a team of thousands, hundreds, tens, or just yourself, these four P’s of leadership are essential for success. Without them you and your team are like a boat without a rudder, drifting on the sea in an unknown direction. Leadership is about choosing the destination and navigating the ship on the right course.

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