I wanted to share with you in my series about Anders Dahlvig's book his thought about management and team work. It has been based on a quote of Russel Ackoff, a trailblazer in management sciences.
Let's imagine you gather all the best cars in the world in one single room. Then you pick the best gears of each modells: The best engine, the best wheel, the best breaks... In the end, you get all what you need in order to build a car, with all the pieces you need. The question is: If you put it all together, would you have the best car in the world? Would you at least have a car that would move forward? Maybe not. The fact that each part works well individually does not mean that it would work all together. Success comes from the ability to work together. That is what makes the best car.
I believe it is very important to understand this part. I am totally agree with this quote. How many times a pro sport team build up dream teams on the paper but those teams never work together.
One example that comes up in my mind is the Lakers team of the 2000s with O'Neal, Bryant, Payton, Malone. All of these guys were all of famers, and despite a really will to work together, that did not happen the way they wanted and they failed in the finals.
Human interactions are key in business, with partners (suppliers, clients, investors), but also with employees, wether they work directly together or not. Great lessons, and great story to tell.
