Secrets of Successful Teams
To be a success is not always to be a success individually. In fact, most of the time we achieve our successes as part of a team. That is why I want to devote this issue to the secrets of successful team. We are all part of teams. Our family is a team. Our place of work is a team. The community groups we belong to are teams. Sometimes we are the team leader or “coach,” while other times we fulfill the role of follower, or “player.” It is so important then for us to understand teams and how they work, especially those who achieve success – the achievement of their desired goal. In my life I have been on some successful teams, and some not so successful teams. This includes both athletically as well as professionally. When I was growing up, I worked for seven years with the Seattle Supersonics, our local National Basketball Association team. They were at times unsuccessful, and, in 1979, my second year working there, the most successful team in the league, winning the World Championship. I have been able to see firsthand what makes the difference between the unsuccessful teams and the successful ones. Here are some principles that I know, when implemented on a regular basis, can turn any lackluster team into an outstanding one! These principles can be applied to your family, your business, your organization, and yes, your sports team. Enjoy.
Communication Leader
The leader needs to communicate the vision. If they are setting the pace, they need to let people know where they are going so that the team can follow. The coach always does a pre-game talk, laying out the vision. The leader communicates the vision frequently, so as to always be updating the team as to where they are at and what changes need to be made. The coach doesn’t relegate the direction he gives to the pre-game, he coaches and communicates all the way through the game.
Team
Watch a good basketball team. They are talking to each other all of the time. Helping one another out, encouraging one another, praising one another, and telling each other how they can make changes so the same mistakes aren’t made again. The same is true of successful teams in the professional world and in life in general.
Excellence
The truly great teams are teams that are committed to excellence. In everything they do, their goal is to achieve at the highest level. And this commitment is held throughout the team and at every level. A successful team cannot have members who are not committed to excellence because in the end they will become the weak link.
Followership
If you want a fascinating read, pick up The Power of Followership, by Robert Kelley. The author basically makes the point that the secret to getting things done lies not only in great leadership, but in how well the rest of the people, 99% of the team, follows the leadership. Good teams are filled with people who are committed to following and getting the job done.
Understanding Roles
Pardon the Chicago Bulls analogy, but it is so clear. When the game was on the line, with only one shot left, everyone, the coaches, the players, the 20,000 people watching in the stadium, and millions watching on TV, knew who would shoot the last shot. That was Michael Jordan’s role. Every team works best when the members of the team have clearly defined and understood roles. Some do one thing, others do another. One isn’t better or more important than the other, just different. When teams operate out of their strengths and their roles, they win.
Strengths and Weaknesses
This brings me to strengths and weaknesses. Every team member has strengths and weaknesses. The successful teams are those who on a regular and consistent basis enable the members to operate out of their strengths and not out of their weaknesses. And what is one person’s strengths will cover another’s weakness. This is teamwork, enabling all of the bases to be covered.
Fun
The team that plays together stays together. Is your team all work and no play? If you’re smart, that will change. Get your team out of the office once a month and go have some fun. Enjoy one another. Enjoy life. It will bring a sense of bonding that can’t be made even in “winning.”
Common Goals and Vision
I have found that these need to have three aspects. Short, simple and clear. Can you say it in less than 30 seconds? Is it simple? Can you and others understand it? Does the team all know what they are working together for?
Appreciation
All through the “game,” successful teams appreciate one another and show it in a variety of ways. The coach shows it to the players, the players show it to the coach, and the players show it to one another.
When the Door of Opportunity Opens
Anybody can achieve anything. Do you believe that? I do.
But there is a caveat that must be made. Those who succeed are those who walk through the door of opportunity when it swings open. That we know. But what is the secret to getting through the door of opportunity?
Being outside the door when it swings open.
As the story goes, Frank Sinatra got his big break while working as a waiter. One day, as he was waiting tables, who does he see sitting in the restaurant, but one of the biggest names in the music industry. Old Blue Eyes did the unbelievable: He cleared off a table next to the gentleman and got up on it and sang! He knew he was done at the restaurant for doing so, but how many times would this door of opportunity open up? Needless to say, the rest is history.
You may remember my article about the stagehand for Kenny G who one day was in the auditorium with Kenny, just the two of them, when he started to play every song for him on the piano that was set up. Kenny didn’t even know the guy could play the piano. Guess who is now the lead keyboardist for Kenny G? You got it!
You see, you never know when the door of opportunity is going to open wide. For some, the big break comes early in life and for others later on. But for all of those who become successful, there is one key similarity: They were ready. And for every one of those who were ready, there were thousands more who weren’t.
So, the principle for us is: Be ready!
Are you ready? Here are some thoughts for you to consider.
Are your skills as sharp as they could be? Are they enough so when your shot comes you can perform?
Is your character deep enough to handle success? Let’s face it; you don’t want big success if your character won’t be able to handle it.
Are you working hard to position yourself now? The job to do while waiting for the door to open is to develop your skills and your character, so as to position yourself to get through that door before it closes.
Your door will open someday. It opens for everyone. It may only open once or it may open many times. It is different for everyone and life just isn’t fair that way. But everybody gets a shot. Will you be ready?
When that huge door of opportunity opens up, will you be able to walk boldly through it?
Do everything you can to be ready. Don’t just sit and wish and dream. Be proactive and make sure that you are the most qualified when the door opens. Make sure that you are the hardest worker. Make sure you are the closest to the door.
When it opens – Be Ready!
Shhh. Do you hear that? Hinges creaking! It is the sound of the door opening. Your door of opportunity! Are you ready?
Winners vs Losers
When a winner makes a mistake, he says, “I was wrong;”
When a loser makes a mistake, he says, “It wasn’t my fault.”
A winner works harder than a loser and has more time;
A loser is always “too busy” to do what is necessary.
A winner goes through a problem;
A loser goes around it, and never gets past it.
A winner makes commitments;
A loser makes promises.
A winner says, “I’m good, but not as good as I ought to be;”
A loser says, “I’m not as bad as a lot of other people.”
A winner listens;
A loser just waits until it’s his turn to talk.
A winner respects those who are superior to him and tries to learn something from them;
A loser resents those who are superior to him and tries to find chinks in their armor.
A winner feels responsible for more than his job;
A loser says, “I only work here.”
A winner says, “There ought to be a better way to do it;”
A loser says, “That’s the way it’s always been done here.”
How to Become a Millionaire
Becoming a millionaire involves discipline, hard work, and financial education. A lot of us are dreaming to become a millionaire and I was one of those. That is why I simply created this blog entitled Millionaire Acts – to know how a millionaire acts and to mimic their success.Based on the book that I read entitled “The Millionaire Next Door”
Personal Finance Books)
in which the authors conducted a study on how millionaires live, we can deduce what these millionaires undertook to achieve their “millionaire” status. And I will summarize it together will all the lessons I learned on how to become a millionaire.
MILLIONAIRES ARE FRUGAL INDIVIDUALS:
Millionaires know how to pay themselves first. If you are an employee like me, the first thing you should do is to pay yourself first whenever you received your paycheck. Set aside enough savings first before you spend the rest. Use the equation INCOME minus SAVINGS equals EXPENSES.
A good way to know how much you should save is by using the universal rule called Pareto’s Principle of 80/20. In business, you must put most of your efforts on the 20% that bring in 80% of the income. In saving, 80% of your savings come from 20% of your frugal living. In other words, you should live within 80% of your income and set aside at least 20% of your salary every payday.
Millionaires live below their means. Most millionaires are not fund of showing their wealth by living a lavish lifestyle. We are oftentimes compelled by media to live extravagant because that’s how media portrays how millionaire lives – large houses, luxurious cars, expensive jewelries, etc.
However, a lot of millionaires are simple. They wear simple clothes, live in a simple house, drives simple car and yet you will know they are already a millionaire by examining their bank accounts, their stock portfolio and other investments.
Millionaires know how to budget. One way to live below your means is to budget your income. You should assign every peso for each of your expenses every month after taking out your savings from your income.
MILLIONAIRES ARE FINANCIALLY LITERATE:
Millionaires know how to invest. The first thing to be financially literate is for you to know that the value of money depreciates over time because of inflation. And that is why you need invest. You need to let your money work for you because you worked hard to earn it. You should know how to read numbers and to understand some basic accounting terms.
Millionaires are familiar with the terms active income and passive income. You should have a lot of income streams. If you lose one, then there could be other streams that can support you. You should not just put all your nest eggs in one basket but in a diversified portfolio that may probably contains stocks, bonds, real estate, and other investment vehicles. Educate yourself with these types of investments and how these investments provide returns for you and what are the associated risks involved.
Millionaires start early. You should be informed that time is essence in becoming a millionaire. It’s not a quick-reach step on top of a ladder but it involves a lot of time. It’s not an overnight success.
MILLIONAIRES ARE DETERMINED TO BECOME MILLIONAIRES:
Millionaires have goals. You should start with a goal. It will serve as your target and gives direction to your actions. There will be a lot of temptations out there that can sway you away towards reaching your goals but it’s just a test of how determined you are. You must possess the drive and the will power to overcome these challenges. You should have the discipline to achieve success. Overcome your fears. Believe in yourself that you can become a millionaire! You can do it!
Millionaires have mentors. You should get yourself a mentor. He will serve as your guide to become a millionaire. He might not be physically present all the time to teach. You can buy his works of art like books in which he shared all the things that he went through in order to achieve his millionaire status.
Mingle with the same people who have the same mindset as yours. Learn from each other. Create value to each other. Surround yourself with positive people, people who can help you and teach you to reach your goals to become a millionaire. Read books that inspire you, that keeps your drive in flame.
Overall these are the collective thoughts I knew on how to become a millionaire. But I can summarize all these in one line – EARN MORE and DESIRE LESS
Are you ready to become a millionaire? Are you a millionaire in the making?
Successful-selling Means
Doing Whatever It Takes
Successful-selling isn't easy to achieve in today’s business environment? In my opinion - here's what it takes.
It takes . . . Uniqueness. Being boring, bland, and benign is out. Being different is your first step to being better in your selling career. If you’re different and you’re better, you’ll be remembered. Type INC. after your name. For example, Jim Meisenheimer Inc.
Don’t view yourself as a person. Think of yourself as a brand or even as a company. How are you positioning yourself? Create a list of ten things that make you different than your competition. If this is a tough exercise for you, you should invest some strategic thinking time.
Blending in is out, standing out is in if you're planning a successful-selling career.
It takes . . . Passion. Why do so few people really get excited about their work? How many times a day do you meet someone whose eyes sparkle as they are going about their business?
Too many salespeople put their presentations into cruise control and expect the product to sell itself. Passion is the one small intangible that makes a huge difference on how you are perceived.
Put a smile on your face, focus on your customer, speak enthusiastically and energetically go about your business and you will become passionate. If you combine equal parts of preparation and product knowledge with a splash of passion you’ll take it to the next level.
With passion, successful-selling is almost always guaranteed.
It takes . . . Discipline. Every presentation could stand a little spit and polish once in a while. Don’t get complacent about anything. Successful-selling comes from order more often than it does from chaos.
Develop a system for getting things done. Have a system for planning your day, planning your calls and planning for your territory.
Discipline takes time and effort. Discipline is not being rigid, it’s being in control as we work in chaotic and reactive environments. The choice is simple. In control or out of control. It takes nothing to be out of control. It takes discipline to be in control.
It takes . . . Time. You can’t rush success. Success is not something you start with. It’s something you hope to achieve. The bigger your challenge, the longer the road. Most folks view success as the destination instead of the journey.
Enjoy the ride and make time to smell the roses along the way. It’s been said, “The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
The road to successful-selling is paved with a DO WHAT IT TAKES kind of attitude.
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