Goodoldlessonsinteamwork fromanageoldfable TheTortoise And TheHare

Onceuponatimeatortoiseanda harehadanargumentaboutwho wasfaster.

Thatsnottrue. Thefastestrunneris me! Imthefastest runner.

Theydecidedtosettle theargumentwitharace. Theyagreedonaroute andstartedofftherace.

Fine!

Ok,letshave arace.

Thehareshotaheadandranbrisklyfor sometime.Thenseeingthathewasfar aheadofthetortoise,hethoughthe'dsit underatreeforsometimeandrelax beforecontinuingtherace.

Poorguy!EvenifI takeanap,he couldnotcatchup withme.

Hesatunderthetreeandsoonfellasleep.

Thetortoiseploddingonovertook himandsoonfinishedtherace, emergingastheundisputedchamp.

Theharewokeupandrealizedthathe'd losttherace.

Themoralofthestoryisthatslowandsteady winstherace. Thisistheversionofthestorythatwe'veall grownupwith.

Thestorycontinues

Theharewasdisappointed atlosingtheraceandhe didsomesoulsearching. Herealizedthathe'dlost theraceonlybecausehe hadbeenoverconfident, carelessandlax.Ifhehad nottakenthingsfor granted,there'snowaythe tortoisecouldhavebeaten him.

Whydid Ilosethe race?

Sohechallengedthe tortoisetoanotherrace. Thetortoiseagreed.

Ok.

Canwehave anotherrace?

Thistime,theharewentall outandranwithoutstopping fromstarttofinish.Hewon byseveralmiles.

Themoralofthestory? Fastandconsistentwillalwaysbeattheslowand steady. Ifyouhavetwopeopleinyourorganization, oneslow,methodicalandreliable,andtheotherfast andstillreliableatwhathedoes,thefastandreliable chapwillconsistentlyclimbtheorganizationalladder fasterthantheslow,methodicalchap. It'sgoodtobeslowandsteadybutit'sbettertobe fastandreliable.

Butthestorydoesn'tendhere

Thetortoisedidsomethinking thistime,andrealizedthatthere's nowayhecanbeatthehareina racethewayitwascurrently formatted.

Howcan Icanwin thehare?

Hethoughtforawhile, andthenchallenged theharetoanother race,butonaslightly differentroute. Thehareagreed.

Canwehaveanotherrace? Thistimewellgo throughadifferentroute.

Sure!

Theystartedoff.Inkeepingwith hisselfmadecommitmenttobe consistentlyfast,theharetookoff andranattopspeeduntilhecame toabroadriver.Thefinishing linewasacoupleofkilometers ontheothersideoftheriver.

Goal

Theharesattherewonderingwhat todo.Inthemeantimethetortoise trundledalong,gotintotheriver, swamtotheoppositebank, continuedwalkingandfinishedthe race.

What shouldI do?

Themoralofthestory? Firstidentifyyourcorecompetencyandthenchangethe playingfieldtosuityourcorecompetency. Inanorganization,ifyouareagoodspeaker,makesureyou createopportunitiestogivepresentationsthatenablethesenior managementtonoticeyou. Ifyourstrengthisanalysis,makesureyoudosomesortof research,makeareportandsenditupstairs. Workingtoyourstrengthswillnotonlygetyounoticed,butwill alsocreateopportunitiesforgrowthandadvancement.

Thestorystillhasn'tended

Thehareandthetortoise,by thistime,hadbecomepretty goodfriendsandtheydidsome thinkingtogether.Bothrealized thatthelastracecouldhave beenrunmuchbetter.

Sotheydecidedtodothe lastraceagain,buttorun asateamthistime.

Great!Ithinkwe coulddoitmuch better,ifwetwo helpeachother.

Hi,buddy.How aboutdoingourlast raceagain? raceagain?

Theystartedoff,andthistimethe harecarriedthetortoisetillthe riverbank.

There,thetortoisetookoverand swamacrosswiththehareonhis back.

Ontheoppositebank,thehare againcarriedthetortoiseandthey reachedthefinishingline together.Theybothfeltagreater senseofsatisfactionthanthey'd feltearlier.

Themoralofthestory? It'sgoodtobeindividuallybrilliantandtohave strongcorecompetenciesbutunlessyou'reableto workinateamandharnesseachother'score competencies,you'llalwaysperformbelowpar becausetherewillalwaysbesituationsatwhich you'lldopoorlyandsomeoneelsedoeswell. Teamworkismainlyaboutsituationalleadership, lettingthepersonwiththerelevantcorecompetency forasituationtakeleadership.

Therearemorelessonstobelearntfromthisstory. Notethatneithertheharenorthetortoisegaveupafterfailures. Theharedecidedtoworkharderandputinmoreeffortafterhis failure.Thetortoisechangedhisstrategybecausehewas alreadyworkingashardashecould. Inlife,whenfacedwithfailure,sometimesitisappropriateto workharderandputinmoreeffort.Sometimesitisappropriate tochangestrategyandtrysomethingdifferent.Andsometimesit isappropriatetodoboth. Thehareandthetortoisealsolearntanothervitallesson.When westopcompetingagainstarivalandinsteadstartcompeting againstthesituation,weperformfarbetter.

WhenRobertoGoizueta tookoverasCEOofCocaColain the1980s,hewasfacedwithintensecompetitionfromPepsi thatwaseatingintoCoke'sgrowth.Hisexecutiveswere Pepsifocusedandintentonincreasingmarketshare0.1per centatime. RobertodecidedtostopcompetingagainstPepsiandinstead competeagainstthesituationof0.1percentgrowth.

Heaskedhisexecutiveswhatwastheaveragefluidintakeof anAmericanperday?Theanswerwas14ounces.Whatwas Coke'sshareofthat?Twoounces.RobertosaidCokeneeded alargershareofthatmarket.Thecompetitionwasn'tPepsi.It wasthewater,tea,coffee,milkandfruitjuicesthatwentinto theremaining12ounces.ThepublicshouldreachforaCoke whenevertheyfeltlikedrinkingsomething. Tothisend,Cokeputupvendingmachinesateverystreet corner.SalestookaquantumjumpandPepsihasneverquite caughtupsince.

Tosumup,thestoryofthehareandtortoise teachesusmanythings: Nevergiveupwhenfacedwithfailure Fastandconsistentwillalwaysbeatslowand steady Worktoyourcompetencies Competeagainstthesituation,notagainsta rival. Poolingresourcesandworkingasateamwill alwaysbeatindividualperformers

Letsgoandbuildstrongerteams!