The Path to Greatness

Lately I've been thinking about how symbiotic our relationship are. The prime example in my life is Chris. She is awesome with design programs. Me other the other hand, I've just learned how to spell 'html'. Yet I'm the one that has the creative aptitude. Individually we can do design and layout, her struggling with how it looks and me trying to figure out how to move something on the page. Together on the other hand, we are able to focus on our strengths and the end result is better than anything we could have done by ourselves.

Now if we were to become jealous or self-centered, we would accomplish even less. All the time that should have been spent on creating would get wasted on arguing. This would only lead to bitterness. Somewhere along the way we would start comparing our skills to that of other, which leads to more jealousy. Pretty soon there would be a total break-down of our relationship.

I've been involved with various committees and organizations through the years. Many times I've seen projects that were not carried out to their full potential or out right fail because of this. Usually someone fails to acknowledge that others are more capable of some aspect and tries to do it themselves.

From what I could tell, there are two reasons for this. First, they refuse to place trust in others because they don't want the whole team to fail. In the end this only leads to disaster. Probably worse than if they had just trusted someone that was sitting on the side offering to help. This type of person usually appears and sometimes actually is very power hungry. In the end, they are the ones saying how great the project was and what a success it was. Meanwhile, those on the sidelines are scratching their heads going 'could this have failed anymore than it did?'

The second type are the ones that want all the glory. In the end, they are pounding their chest and pointing out what THEY did. These people irritate me the most. Not because of the chest pounding but, its the self-centered attitude. There is a failure to realize the team concept. While the entire building is falling around them, they are sitting there smiling, telling you 'I put that nail in and that one and this one and...' As long as their part is good forget the rest.

One of the greatest businessmen of our time, in my opinion, was Sam Walton. What made him great was not his business plan or his fore site. Its was the fact that he never told someone not to bother because he knew what he was doing. It was the fact that he realized what working together can accomplish. Most of the ideas that are credited to him were not his and he acknowledged that. His ideas came from his people. Regardless of what you think of Wal-Mart today, look at him. In just a few years he went from a small town merchant to a global company. All by nurturing symbiotic relationships.

Looking back on my life, I can see where I've done this and where its happened to me. How much energy have I wasted on bitterness and jealousy?