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IMAGINE

Written by: Robin Elliott

Article Overview: The most valuable asset to any business is our associates and the people we work with. Read more about unlocking this highly valuable and underutilized resource.

IMAGINE

In honor of the anniversary of John Lennon’s death, I have chosen this topic. Imagine you were going on a very long, perilous and important trip. If you survive the trip, you will be rewarded with great wealth, leaning and satisfaction, but, more importantly, huge personal growth. The journey is through a treacherous and threatening environment, much of it uncharted and unknown. And you have no idea how long the journey will take, or how you will reach the destination. In fact, imagine if you didn’t even have enough resources at the start to complete the journey – you just have enough to get started. You will have to create new resources along the way.

Now imagine you were given the opportunity to select a group of friends and fellow travelers to accompany you on this magnificent mission. You will have to trust your success and even survival to these people. You will endure difficult and dangerous challenges and threats. There will be the temptation of greed, fear and unexpected obstacles and rewards. What kind of people would you choose? What characteristics would you look for? How would you test them? After all, your very life and indeed your future fortunes would be in their hands!

Imagine you have to make a list of the qualities you will look for in this team. Now make the list. Name twenty qualities you would not compromise on. What would they be? Courage, consistency, reliability, integrity? Honesty, confidence, steadfastness, dependability, fidelity, loyalty, constancy? What else? How about boldness and valor? Would you really be interested in their resumes, university degrees and past experience, or would character be more important? Now here is a shocking suggestion: how many people do you now know and do business with that would fit that profile?

Business is very much like the journey I have just described. Those whom we choose to travel that journey with, the team we select, the joint venture partners we pick, can and do make a massive difference. We need to be very vigilant and selective. Look out for red flags. Watch your associates very closely and carefully put your team together. Whenever you see a wolf among the sheep, cut bait fast. Don’t discuss it or rationalize it. Don’t justify or excuse it. See it for what it is and remove it.

The most valuable asset to any business is our associates and the people we work with. When you find good people, stick with them. Support them, encourage them, reward them and honor them. They’re hard to find. Business is an exciting journey and it’s wonderful to be able to travel that journey. The rewards are magnificent. “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us…”

Motivational Quote
"You make your own dream. That's the Beatles' story, isn't it? That's Yoko's story. That's what I'm saying now. Produce your own dream. If you want to save Peru, go save Peru. It's quite possible to do anything, but not to put it on the leaders and the parking meters. Don't expect Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan or John Lennon or Yoko Ono or Bob Dylan or Jesus Christ to come and do it for you. You have to do it yourself. That's what the great masters and mistresses have been saying ever since time began. They can point the way, leave signposts and little instructions in various books that are now called holy and worshiped for the cover of the book and not for what it says, but the instructions are all there for all to see, have always been and always will be. There's nothing new under the sun. All the roads lead to Rome. And people cannot provide it for you. I can't wake you up. "You can wake you up. I can't cure you. You can cure you." - John Lennon

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