WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE

"Society is the union of men and not the men themselves."

Charles de Secondat 20th century French political philosopher

No man or woman is above the law or the society in which they live.

Beginning to believe you are is the beginning of your end.

IN GOOD TIMES AND (MAYBE NOT IN) BAD

"Remorse sleeps during prosperity but awakes bitter consciousness during adversity."

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) Swiss political philosopher/essayist.

Not only remorse but also accusations and conflict.

Most any management group can tolerate each other when things go well; it's when they don't the team's true ability to work together becomes apparent.

ONE (CAN BE) THE LONELIEST NUMBER THAT YOU'LL EVER DO

"To be no part of any body, is to be nothing."

John Donne (1572-1632) English poet

This figures to come from the "No man is an island" man, however don't let that diminish his message.

It's good to be independent, just not to the point of failing to recognize when it's not.

"Yeah Team!"

"TEAM:  Together Everyone Achieves More"

Unknown

While often (but not always) true, I really don't like overly simplistic statements such as this.

All too frequently such platitudes are substituted for the detailed planning that will be necessary if real progress is to be achieved.

Alone or together, there's real work to do.

Teamwork: What Part of Success?

"Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success."

Henry Ford

To this list we could add something about actually accomplishing something but Mr. Ford's point is made nonetheless.

A lot of time and effort is expended in teamwork but how much actually gets done?

Teamwork: All For One Or One For All?

"No member of a crew is praised for the rugged individuality of his rowing."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I suppose because all that rowing was always only about getting the shell across the finish line before the other team?

Maybe it's similar to the lack of attention paid to the effort of any one individual ant by all the other ants in the colony. If they don't all work, the colony dies.

But still, no praise for individual effort within a team?

Lone Wolf versus One of the Pack

"There have been casualties: whereas those who work well with others have been promoted, lone fighters have been pushed out. As a result, a fifth of Cisco's leadership has left the company."

"The World According to Chambers"
Article discussing Cicso transformation
The Economist August 27, 2009

Not a traditional quote as in previous posts but important nonetheless.

Cisco relies on an intricate team management system, one the article says, does not favor lone individuals, apparently no matter how good they might be.

How do you balance the value of the individual versus the benefits of team players?

Compassion: A Rising Tide Floats All Boats

"In separateness lies the world's great misery, in compassion lies the world's true strength."

Buddha

We celebrate individualism in business, at least in US business. The rugged, against-all-odds (usually) man triumphing when so many others fail. You typically don't see a lot of compassion in that scenario.

I like a lot of that but not the lack of compassion.

How can we feel for ourselves if we can't also feel for others?