Ever feel like you’re one step away from achieving a goal but just can’t seem to figure out what’s missing to execute it? Perhaps you often find yourself reaching for the car keys (the dream) but forgetting the baby (the responsibilities attached to the dream). If this is you, my question today is, “Do you have a personal business plan?” You may, in fact, already have a simply gorgeous business or personal marketing plan you’re currently sitting on. Now is as good a time as any to get that plan out. Determine who you need to partner with (if it’s applicable to your journey towards excellence), and as Cisco’s past CEO, John Chambers says, “It’s time to execute!” So let’s execute.
In Organizations: Behavior Structure Process (1997) Gibson, Ivancevich, and Donnelly write, “The single most important reason why teams are formed is to enhance organizational productivity. Organizations throughout the world have realized that team performance leads to higher productivity levels than what would be achieved by many individuals working individually” (p. 212). Similarly, in The World According to Mister Rodgers: Important Things to Remember(2003) Fred Rogers takes it one step further by noting that, “It always helps to have people we love beside us when we have to do difficult things in life” (p. 57).
Granted, depending upon the difficulty quotient of your business idea, you may or may not require a formal partnership or team to operate in your zone. However, you will most likely need some form of assistance. For example, while writing Running Away for Three Weeks, I did not know anything about the writing process or the myriad of steps one must take to usher a book to publication. However, at each critical juncture (e.g., computer, printer, editors, publisher, book jacket design, photos, etc.) supplementary team members arrived in a just-in-time manner and contributed spot-on assistance to the project. No, they were not formal partners in the sense that they partnered with me to write the book, but rather they were contributors who provided the necessary resources and expertise so that I could complete the various book writing tasks.
My favorite book reads, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed” (Proverbs 13:20 NKJV). Herein lays the most critical consideration when choosing any form of team members. Choose your team members well. Beware, some people will want to jump into your boat but will not help it float. Instead they will have you bailing water as you watch your project miss its mark. To avoid these boat sinkers, never accept coaching from someone who has yet to master the subject matter. The same holds true for anyone offering you ideas or services; be certain their input is germane to your journey towards excellence. The last thing we want to do is drive off without the baby. When in doubt as to whether someone is an appropriate team member, ask for references!
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