Timeless Teamwork Principles

Through the 20th and into the 21st century there have been countless books, recordings, and seminars on teamwork.

While many of these offer valuable insight and valuable information on building teamwork within an organization, Hill's principles are timeless.

Here they are:

• Ally yourself with a group of as many people as you may need to carry out your plan.
• Personally figure out what advantages and benefits you can offer each member of your team in return for their cooperation with your plan.
• Arrange to meet with your team bi-weekly at regular scheduled intervals.
• Remain in "perfect" harmony with your team.

Hill sums up his simple teamwork principles with this profound quote:

It makes total sense. . .

Look at any aspect of building or developing a business, one of the core values of business is: people must work in unison.

From the business owner to the customer, every phase of business is structured upon people building agreement with one another. The team agrees with the team leader, while the customer agrees that the product offers enough value to trade their hard-earned money for it.

Commerce is a system based entirely on trading value for value.

Harmony occurs when the value of being part of the team system compensates or exceeds any disadvantages of being a member, effective teamwork operates much the same way.

Hill's teamwork principles are based on this simple fact.

You can see why team breakdown occurs: the costs of being part of the team outweigh the gains.

It's simply a system of give and take.

Ideally, as a leader, your primary job is to offer enough value and incentive to your team as to acquire their unbroken alignment to your system. Your system, based on these simple teamwork principles and filled with the right people, achieves the goals.

In "Think and Grow Rich" the goal Hill wrote about was the accumulation of wealth. However, it is also clear, the attainment of organizational or team goals relies primarily on peoples' cooperation with these same teamwork principles.

It's important to stress the magnitude Hill places on a leadership possessing perfectly clear vision about their team or organization's goals.

Michael Gerber, the author of the book "The E-myth" says:

Through-out history, crystal clear team vision is directly derived from a leader's ability to figure out what she wants, organize a clear plan of action to attain the goal, and take total ownership for implementing that plan . Hill reiterates that a leader's plan must be of major importance to her and must be "faultless" if she is to attain her goals.

Here a few ideas to foster teamwork in your organization

Technology and Environment May Change, But Principles Don't. . .

Hill's thoughts are repeated in countless writings of business and military leaders.

As a leader, whether you own a small business or you're a manager for a large corporation it is your responsibility to put your team in a position to succeed. Meaning you must encourage teamwork in the workplace.

The easiest path to accomplish your goals is to get total alignment with:

• What you want to achieve.
• Develop your "faultless" plan
• Organize and support in "harmony" with your team
• Take ownership of your plan of action
• Lead and Succeed

In a nutshell these are the seeds of successful businesses, and timeless teamwork principles.