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Showing posts with label Teamwork. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teamwork. Show all posts

The Three (or Four) Musketeers ...

  1. Successful early-stage venture management teams are often comprised of the "Three Musketeers": the General Manager (President), the Product/Operations Manager (VP), and the Marketing/Sales Manager (VP).
  2. More than three people leading the venture and the communication channels start to become too complex. 
  3. Less than three leading managers and the workload starts to become too intense. If there is a Fourth Musketeer, it could be a Financial Manager (VP?)
  4. The General Manager concentrates on the cash flow, keeping the venture profitable, and stimulating growth.
  5. The Product/Operations Manager is primarily internally focused on creating solutions that are better than the competition.
  6. The Marketing/Sales Manager is primarily externally focused on solving customer problems.
  7. The team is a cohesive entity focused on what is best for the venture and its customers ... one for all, all for one.
  8. Successful management teams are comprised on individuals who are competent, have complementary skills, and collaborative styles.
  9. Together the team is purposeful, passionate, and persistent.
  10. Together the team is focused on earning a profit solving customer problems better than the competition.

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

  • Habit 1: Be Proactive ... Change starts from within, and highly effective people make the decision to improve their lives through the things that they can influence rather than by simply reacting to external forces.
  • Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind ... Develop a principle-centered personal mission statement. Extend the mission statement into long-term goals based on personal principles.
  • Habit 3: Put First Things First ... Spend time doing what fits into your personal mission, observing the proper balance between production and building production capacity. Identify the key roles that you take on in life, and make time for each of them.
  • Habit 4: Think Win/Win ... Seek agreements and relationships that are mutually beneficial. In cases where a "win/win" deal cannot be achieved, accept the fact that agreeing to make "no deal" may be the best alternative. In developing an organizational culture, be sure to reward win/win behavior among employees and avoid inadvertantly rewarding win/lose behavior.
  • Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood ... First seek to understand the other person, and only then try to be understood. Stephen Covey presents this habit as the most important principle of interpersonal relations. Effective listening is not simply echoing what the other person has said through the lens of one's own experience. Rather, it is putting oneself in the perspective of the other person, listening empathically for both feeling and meaning.
  • Habit 6: Synergize ... Through trustful communication, find ways to leverage individual differences to create a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. Through mutual trust and understanding, one often can solve conflicts and find a better solution than would have been obtained through either person's own solution.
  • Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw ... Take time out from production to build production capacity through personal renewal of the physical, mental, social/emotional, and spiritual dimensions. Maintain a balance among these dimensions.
[Thank you, Stephen R. Covey and QuickMBA.com]

Twelve Team Tips ...

Building a venture team? Here are some goog guidelines ...
  1. A team needs a good leader. Usually, in a work situation, the leader is chosen by people outside the team. In more social contexts, the team may choose the leader.
  2. A team needs to be the right size. There is no precise figure here, but generally speaking one would expect a new business venture management team to be around 3 to 6 members.
  3. A team needs members with a variety of skills. The nature of these skills will depend on the organization and the task. However, typically one might want someone good with figures as well as someone good with words, someone who is effective at getting things done as well someone who is a creative thinker. It is important to avoid the temptation to chose too many like-minded members and team members need to know and respect the skills of others in the team.
  4. A team needs members with a variety of personalities. Again the nature of these personalities will depend on the organisation and the task. One might want an introvert as well as an extrovert and a maturer person as well as a younger one. Gender and ethnic differences can also make a creative contribution to an effective team.
  5. A team needs to bond. Some of this can be in done in the course of carrying out team tasks. However, it is good to create more specific opportunities for bonding that are outside the normal work schedule and situation, such as strategy sessions, training course and social events. One should take opportunities to celebrate successes - such as winning a new contract or fulfilling a particular project - and to celebrate occasions - such as birthdays of team members.
  6. A team needs to be able to resolve internal conflicts. However well a team bonds, it is likely that from time to time there will be differences in the team. This should not be unexpected or even always avoided; it is an inevitable feature of creative people having different ideas. 
  7. A team needs good communications. People need to know what is expected of them, what is happening in the organisation, and how all this effects them as individuals and as a team. In many ways, the best communication is face-to-face but this can be time-consuming and may not always be practical. These days e-mail is an efficient means of communication, provided that it is not overdone or used as a way of avoiding difficult encounters.
  8. A team needs shared values and a shared vision. All team members need to know and agree how the team is going to work and what it is trying to do. This might involve having some sort of strategy session - maybe facilitated by someone outside the team - with exercises to ensure that the values and the vision are embraced by all.
  9. A team needs clear objectives. Ideally these objectives ought to be SMART - that is, specific, measurable, achievable, resourced, timed.
  10. A team needs to be empowered. There are two elements to this. First, the team collectively needs to be given the resources and the authority to achieve the objectives set for it. Second, each individual needs to know what is expected of him or her but left to work out for himself or herself how best to achieve this on a day to day basis.
  11. A team needs trust. Members need to trust each other and most especially the team leader. This requires open and honest communication, acceptance of a 'no blame' culture, and a recognition that every mistake is an occasion for learning and not an excuse to criticise.
  12. A team needs to be flexible. There are two elements to this. First, roles in the team should not be rigid - it is the team's success that matters more than who exactly does what. Second, the composition and existence of the team needs to be flexible so, if a new skill is needed, one might add a new member to the team, but conversely, if the team's project is satisfactorily completed, there might be no continued need for the team.
[Thank you, Roger Darlington]

Tips for Building a Good Corporate Culture

  1. Give every member of your organization a chance to dream, and tap into the creativity those dreams embody.
  2. Stand firm on your beliefs and principles.
  3. Treat your customers like guests.
  4. Support, empower, and reward employees.
  5. Build long-term relationships with key suppliers and partners.
  6. Dare to take calculated risks in order to bring innovative ideas to fruition.
  7. Train extensively and constantly reinforce the company's culture.
  8. Align long-term vision with short-term execution.
  9. Use the storyboarding technique to solve planning and communication problems.
  10. Pay close attention to detail.
[Thank you, Walt Disney]

Mission Statement ... The Critical Success Factor!

The world changes ... client needs, wants, desires; competitive offerings; economic environments; et alia.  
Every organization must proactively address change if it is to survive and thrive.  The four elements of the Critical Success Factor are excellent focal points for potential innovation in an organization.  

The Critical Success Factor statement is also an excellent Mission Statement template.

Perspectives on Corporate Entrepreneurship

  1. Companies must constantly innovate ... without innovation they tend to do what they've always done and run the risk of getting stale and becoming competitively disadvantaged.
  2. For a company to thrive, it must tap the individual initiative of its team members ... this must be a major area of focus.
  3. On any initiative being pursued, team-member buy-in is absolutely essential for success.
  4. If a company want its people to be intrapreneurial in their thinking, they must be kept well informed about the company's processes and visions, and the impact of these processes and visions on profit.
  5. Leaders must give team members everything they need to be self-motivated and take the initiative to succeed.
  6. Companies must reward the creativity of their people.
  7. If a team member owns an initiative, he or she should be accountable for all aspects of its success.
  8. Companies must encourage resourcefulness and out-of-the-box thinking.
  9. All thought leaders must be constantly focused on customer needs and now to satisfy and exceed them.
  10. Leaders and managers must work to maximize team-member involvement in all key initiatives to tap the collective intellect of the team.
[Thank you, The One Minute Entrepreneur]

How to Build an Effective Team

  1. Team members should clearly understand what is expected of them, individually and as a group.
  2. Team members should understand their specific role on the team.
  3. Team members should be committed to the success of the team ... all for one, one for all!
  4. Team members should be competent in their individual field of expertise.
  5. The team should be balanced and cover all key areas ... for example, a new business venture team often consists of a general manager, a product/operations manager, a marketing/sales manager, and a finance manager.
  6. Teams members should be of good character and maintain high ethical standards.
  7. The team should have control of their destiny.
  8. Team members should actively communicate on an on-going basis.
  9. Team members should actively coordinate their planning and actions on an on-going basis.
  10. Team members should actively collaborate on an on-going basis.
  11. The team should be engaged in proactive change and innovation.
  12. The team should be responsible for the consequences of its actions.

Teamwork Skills

  1. Listening ... it is important to listen to other people's ideas. When people are allowed to freely express their ideas, these initial ideas will produce other ideas.
  2. Discussing ... it is important to discuss your ideas with your teammates until you agree.
  3. Questioning ... it is important to ask questions, interact, and discuss the objectives of the team.
  4. Persuading ... individuals are encouraged to exchange, defend, and then to ultimately rethink their ideas.
  5. Respecting ... it is important to treat others with respect and to support their ideas.
  6. Helping ... it is crucial to help one's coworkers, which is the general theme of teamwork.
  7. Sharing ... it is important to share with the team to create an environment of teamwork.
  8. Participating ... all members of the team are encouraged to participate in the team. (usually consist of three or more people)
  9. Communicating ... For a team to work effectively it is essential team members acquire communication skills and use effective communication channels between one another e.g. using email, viral communication, group meetings and so on. This will enable team members of the group to work together and achieve the team's purpose and goals.
[Thank you, Wikipedia]

Brainstorming!

A good way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas from which to choose! Brainstorming is a Creativity Supertool!
  1. Brainstorming is a team sport ... support your team members!
  2. No criticism ... no "devil's advocates" allowed!
  3. Anything goes … wild, crazy, impractical, ingenious ideas encouraged!
  4. Go for quantity, not quality, of ideas!
  5. All ideas encouraged!
  6. Piggyback, improve, combine ideas ... be an "angel advocate"!
  7. Record all ideas so nothing gets lost!
  8. Filter ideas later, not during the brainstorming session!
  9. Set a time limit for the session, then stick to it!
Variation ... brainwriting: the general process is that, in a group, ideas are recorded by each individual who thought of them ... they are then passed on to the next person who uses them as a trigger for their own ideas.

Creativity Kindling Exercises

  • Level 1 ... Explain, Demonstrate, Identify, Illustrate, Translate, Show, Label
  • Level 2 ... Solve, Organize, Construct, Generalize, Examples, Relate, Summarize
  • Level 3 ... Compare, Contrast, Classify, Dissect, Analyze, Categorize, Take Apart, Sequence, Group
  • Level 4 ... Design, Hypothesize, Predict, Combine, Originate, Compose, Improve, Invent
  • Level 5 ... Create, Modify, Forecast, Restructure, Initiate, Imagine, Substitute, Change
  • Level 6 ... Justify, Criticize, Judge, Recommend, Evaluate, Propose, Defend, Appraise


Traits of Terrific Teams ...

  1. Challenge each other
  2. Provide mutual inspiration
  3. Perform well in a chaotic environment
  4. Maintain control despite the extreme pressure
  5. Trust each other
  6. Respect each other
  7. Share a common vision
  8. Open to new ideas
  9. Have a sense of humor
  10. Have integrity
  11. Full of energy
  12. Team players
  13. Honest and direct
  14. Calculated risk-takers
  15. Get along with others
  16. Able to handle pressure
  17. Are inspirational
  18. Are doers
  19. Are competent in their field
  20. Are balanced
  21. Are experienced
  22. Share leadership and ownership of team tasks
  23. Communicate continuously
  24. Provide performance feedback
  25. Most decisions reached by consensus
  26. Division of tasks is clear
  27. Collaboration is the norm
  28. Share learning
  29. Listen to each other
  30. Comfortable with disagreements
  31. Are cohesive
  32. Are mutually supportive
  33. Coordinate activities
  34. Share work expectations
  35. Have complementary skills but a collaborate style