Work together or fail together

A man was having a conversation with a pastor one day and said, “I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.”
The pastor led the man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly and appeared to be starving. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms, and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.
The man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. “Can’t you do anything to help them?” he asked. The pastor said, “You have seen Hell.”
Then they went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of delectable stew. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The man said, “I don’t understand.”
“It is simple,” said the pastor. “It requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.”
That’s what I call teamwork. The boat won’t go if we all don’t row. No one is more important than the team. The key is how to build the team and make it more successful.
Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history, was asked how he was so successful. He said: “I try to find out as much as I can about every player on my team and then try to get the most out of him and blend these talents into a team.”
Rick Pitino did the same when he took over as coach of a struggling University of Kentucky basketball team and led them to a national championship. During the first day of practice, Pitino sat all the players down and asked them how close they were with their teammates. They all said, “Oh, we’re real close, coach.” Then Pitino proceeded to ask each player about his teammates. Do you know what their fathers and mothers do? How about brothers and sisters? And not one person knew a thing about their fellow team members’ families.
Many business leaders preach, “Know your customer.” How about “Know your team?”
At MackayMitchell Envelope Co., we often utilize a questionnaire called the Mackay 33 for Managers. It’s designed to provide a personal profile of the likes, dislikes and unique individual needs and qualities of each of our employees. It is based on observation, not investigation, and is intended to motivate people and design individual career paths. We want to know their goals and aspirations. What motivates them? What are they most proud of achieving? What are their strengths / weaknesses? Do they have proper role models and do they like to teach? Are they team players?
We also developed a Mackay 33 for Employees, which gets into company attitudes toward employees.
(Both forms are available for free on my Web site, www.HarveyMackay.com. Just click on “Advice” and scroll down to “Leadership.”)
Finding good employees is easy. Getting them to work as a team is another story. It’s up to management to provide an atmosphere where teamwork is encouraged and expected.
A salesman is driving on a two-lane country road in a rainstorm and gets stuck in a ditch. He asks a farmer for help. The farmer hitches up Elmo, his blind mule, to the salesman’s car and hollers out, “Pull Sam, pull!” Nothing happens. He again yells, “Pull Bessie, pull.” Still nothing. “Pull Jackson, pull.” Still nothing. Finally he hollers, “Pull Elmo, pull.” And Elmo rips the car right out of the ditch.
The driver is confused and says, “I don’t understand. Why did you have to call out all those different names?”
“Look, if he didn’t think he had any help, he wouldn’t even try!”

Mackay’s Moral: Give your employees the ingredients to feed off each other’s successes. •
Harvey Mackay is the author of the New York Times bestseller “Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive.” He can be reached through his Web site, www.HarveyMackay.com, or by writing him at Mackay Mitchell Envelope Co, 2100 Elm St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414.

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