Building Strong Teams: A Key to Business Success

When they think about what makes a business successful, most people probably think of it as the products or services that a company offers. Maybe that was true about 25 years ago, but today it is quite different. With more and more companies offering more and more variations of literally millions of products, brand loyalty doesn’t carry much weight these days. So what is it that gives a company a competitive advantage? I think it’s the people, how well they are trained and, most importantly, how well they work together.

Think of the acronym TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More. As long as business leaders can get all of their employees to focus on a common goal and work together to achieve that goal, incredible things can happen. In a society that thrives on individual achievement, I believe that the greatest success can only be achieved when people in a team work together. For the sake of being a cliché, I am going to offer a sports analogy to substantiate my point.

In 1998, the Seattle Mariners won 76 games and finished third in their division. After the season, they possibly lost one of the best pitchers in baseball, Randy Johnson, to free agency. The following season they won 79 games and again finished 3rd in their division. At the end of the season, they lost another superstar, Ken Griffey Jr., probably the best center fielder in the game. The following season, 2000, they won 92 games and finished in second place. Once again, at the end of the season they lost another superstar. This time it was Alex Rodríguez, arguably the best individual player in the game. He signed the largest contract of all time, $ 250 million for 10 years. And how did the Mariners do the following year? they won 116 games, tying the record for most wins of all time in a season. No longer dependent on the individual accomplishments of their three superstars, the Mariners came together as a true team for one of the best seasons of all time.

So how does this apply to businesses? Well this is what I think teams give to an organization.

An empowered workforce; There is no need for superstars when all of your employees feel they contribute directly to the success of your organization.

Greater job satisfaction; Employees who feel they are contributing are more satisfied with their jobs, have better attendance, are less likely to seek a new job, and generally have a win-win attitude.

Flexibility; Organizations that take time to train and develop the contribution potential of all their employees are much more flexible. Therefore, they can react better to changing market conditions and stay ahead of the competition more effectively.

Improved performance (ie, safety, quality, product cost, customer service); Employees who come to work regularly, received the proper training, and feel part of an organization almost automatically perform better. It is the disgruntled employees, not the satisfied ones, who are most likely to produce poor quality products or give unacceptable customer service.

Longer-term stability and profitability of the company; All of these things, in turn, provide long-term business stability and, in turn, profitability. After all, companies are in business to make money. Why not try allowing your employees to work together as an empowered workforce? You will be surprised by the success.