Healthy Teams Reach Much Higher
"There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves." -Lyndon B. Johnson
Healthy teams are rarely the number one priority in an organization. In my view, this is a big mistake. How people relate to one another on a daily basis directly impacts how people relate to the work at hand and to the team’s larger mission.
Ella Miron-Spektor, an Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD, looks at entrepreneurial teams and how they work best.
When teams are created keeping in mind both friendship and complementary resources, they enable transactive memory systems, shared knowledge, and processes that set certain start-ups apart from others. The team develops a system to encode, store and use knowledge, with a clear understanding of who knows what and who does what within the team. If one team member is an expert in technology and another is an administration expert, a third team member clearly understands that they don’t have to take care of those aspects and can focus on another part of the business, like marketing. Each team member deepens their knowledge, skills, and capabilities within their own domain; when performing together as a cohesive unit, they trust each other and effectively coordinate their actions, broadening the pool of resources and capabilities.
I run a small marketing services company where I actively encourage team members and our clients to ‘own’ their areas of expertise. I can’t possibly know all the things that a subject matter expert knows, but I do know that our clients need a specialist on the job and I know it’s my job to bring them forward, empower them, and help them succeed.
Don’t Tell It. Sell It.
Good ideas can propel a movement or go poof in the night. Good ideas are fuel and therefore highly combustible and at times difficult to work with. Good ideas are also plentiful. It’s the ability to consistently convey their worth and bring them to life that is so incredibly rare.
In the 1960s, LBJ—one of the greatest persuaders of the 20th century—sold the war on poverty to millions of people who didn’t want it. What was his secret? In my view, LBJ had charm plus leverage going for him, but it was the leverage that brought him votes, which he then deftly converted into power.
So ask yourself, what leverage do you have with current customers or future prospects? What do they truly need from you that you’re uniquely positioned to deliver?
Referrals Are Golden \\ Take 10% Off the Top
Businesses succeed when they tighten their bonds with repeat customers. This can result from new product development and/or competitive pricing. It can also result from better brand marketing. My company provides the latter to a handful of new clients each year.
Now, to supercharge referrals and continue our sharp growth trajectory into 2022, Bonehook is offering a ten percent finder’s fee when you help to bring us new business.
That’s right. Just introduce us to the people you know who need our services, and we’ll do the rest. If the original scope of work is $100K you will get $10K right off the top. When the new client pays us, we will pay you.
Let me know if you have questions about any aspect of this. And please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you (that is or is not related to any of the above).
Digital Lagniappe
Listen to AdChatter for the interviews. #adcast
Check out our interviews with @debkmorrison, @Gwaynek, @HarrisoSteve, @santibibiloni, @americopywriter, and David Blain of @saxtonhorne.Ad Chatter, the podcast from Adpulp dot com features advertising news and know-how, plus interviews with prominent guests from the marketing, media, and advertising industries. https://t.co/Am28KfdTiC
David Burn @davidburnProceed with Caution: More than 220,000 U.S. bridges need major repair work or total replacement.
The Great Salt Lake’s levels are expected to hit a 170-year low this year.
Young people in China have set off a nascent counterculture movement that involves lying down and doing as little as possible.
Over the Fourth of July weekend, there were more than 500 shootings across the United States taking the lives of at least 189 people.
"Austin remains a city of gnarled contradiction, vast opportunity, and still-untapped greatness. Austin is still a city where all things are possible, but what is possible, and for whom, will continue to be the question." -A.J. Bingham
We Can Work It Out
To connect with people in today’s marketplace, don’t just state your offer. Cast a spell. How do you do that? You marry your brand voice to brand identity and experience.
Thanks for being here now.