A lesson from cavemen

Teamwork and sense of urgency

We often talk of teams and their power.   Is teamwork new ? How far back in history can we see the notions of teamwork?  Here is a little story to illustrate a few key concepts around teamwork and its’ effectiveness.

“Long long time ago, when men lived in caves to seek protection from sabre tooth tigers and other predators.  Men feared for their life, the life of their family and of the members of their tribe.  Looking for a solution to end the fear, some tribe members were dreaming of “thunder stick” or even of “lightening throwers”. 

But the men and the tribes that survived are the ones where all tribe members organized, took sticks and rocks, and fought back against their predators and attackers. To be successful they had to work together, to leave no one behind, to agree on a strategy and make it work.  In one word they had to learn and apply teamwork, to learn to use every team member various skills and strengths. They had to adjust their strategies to the various enemies they faced, and later to the preys they hunted. Doing so cave men evolved from prey to predator and to dominate their environment.” 

What it means in today’s world

It seems our business world lost the lessons of sense of urgency (i.e. using the resources we have available right now) and teamwork (everyone working together for a shared purpose and common goals using an agreed upon strategy) for the common good of all (not the few).

Politics and politicians do not dictate how our economy will grow and develop, they merely work on the environment.  It is our job to tackle the predators on our ground, and then fight back by becoming better than them in their own markets. Only teamwork can provide the strength and the resources to dominate our environment for the long term.

So far the alternative our society used was large capital check that. But large capital fosters rigidity, rigidity foster exclusion, exclusion destroys team and sense of belonging, which foster antagonism. Doing so we destroy the social bond in our society, leaving all of us as individual preys for the new age “sabre tooth tiger”.  Organizations that are currently dominating because of large capital will eventually fall against smaller organizations based on teamwork and agility.  These smaller organizations are being created from the imagination, the energy and the drive of the people excluded from large capital organizations.

Our common future and wellbeing will depend on our ability to develop teamwork across our society and in our businesses. It is possible even in large capital organizations.

To your success for the benefit of your team,

Read more about how we accelerate the development of teamwork, visit www.org-coaching.com