If you are spending hours sitting in front of your computer, you may not be doing what you love. Business owners try to do it all by chasing the newest shiny object. They believe that if they consistently keep moving forward, the money will flow. But these business owners tend to become stressed and overwhelmed for the following reasons:
- They choose to do business outside their lane of expertise, and it does not make sense to their clients.
- They refuse to outsource support to a virtual team causing them to become bogged down in the details, leaving very little time to do what they do best.
- They do not have a coach that supports them to focus and stay on track.
I can fondly member, my Grandpa Lew teaching and demonstrating to me the importance of how to create your A-team and how to work with them effectively.
One early morning, grandpa and I fixed our favorite breakfast of hot Choco, peanut butter on toasted sourdough bread, and a small box of cereal of my choice. As we packed up our food, grandpa said, “See we are working as a team.”
His teachings were so subtle that I hardly noticed where he was heading. “You are putting the cereal in the bag, and I’m pouring the milk into the coke bottles. You toast the bread, because that’s what you do best.” he continued, “I’ll put the peanut butter on the toast and wrap our sandwiches in foil to keep the heat in. Last, we will share the duties for making the hot chocolate, pouring it into bottles, and wrapping them in newspaper to keep them hot.”
It’s 6:30 am, and all is quiet in the park this Sunday. As we climb the stairs to the announcer’s box, that oversees the softball field, we noticed the morning dew on the seats and table. Working together we wiped everything dry with paper towels. As we sat down to unwrap our yummy breakfast Grandpa shared his next point. “You see, when the team is playing softball, every base is covered, right? Aren’t there players covering every base to get the job done?”
“Yes,” I replied, trying to figure out what the message was.
“Aren’t there people in the outfield trained to catch the balls the infield players miss? They are trained to be the backup in case someone on the front line makes a mistake. In a growing business you are the front line. But you need people you can trust to follow through when you need them. Without those people, you end up playing by yourself. No matter how hard you try it’s impossible to win without your team. After all, how can you possibly play every base alone? You just can’t.”
I looked into Grandpa’s eyes, nodding my understanding while swallowing a chunk of peanut butter sandwich and washing it down with hot Choco. “Never forget that you cannot win without a team to support you“, Grandpa said quietly. I will never forget this important teaching and have spent my business career following the cherished words and advice Grandpa shared during our very special time together.
#Business #Sales #teamwork #marketing #workingasateam #Virtualsupport