No. 194 - PROFILE OF A DREAM TEAM

No. 194

Jim Davidson...NEWSPAPER COLUMN

PROFILE OF A DREAM TEAM

It's a wonderful feeling to wake up each day and to be thankful to God that you have so many friends. Two of my friends, Dave and Pat Engle are faithful readers of my column and they have written to me a good number of times over the years. Dave calls himself an old retired contractor from "Philly," meaning Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Each time they write they also send along some food for thought and it's always good.

Up till now, I've not been able to find a spot for any of it in my column but today is the exception. In Dave's last letter he sent me something titled "Profile Of A Dream Team." It is by an unknown author and is circa 1970-1971. It's fantastic and regardless of where you are in life or what you do, I think you'll find some ideas here that you can use. You may have to ponder it a bit, but at least that's my heart's desire.

When I first saw the title, "Profile Of A Dream Team," it reminded me of the 1992 Olympics. This was the first year the U.S. Olympic Committee decided to use professional basketball players in the games. After all, this was certainly in order, because most of the other countries have been using them for years. Because of the level of talent the committee assembled, names like Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Reggie Miller and Hakeem Olajuwon, they became known as the "Dream Team." This was very fitting because they were never challenged and as expected, they won the Olympic Gold and lived up to the label they were given as the "Dream Team", the best in the world.

But back to that "Profile" that David Engle sent me. The key word here is 'team' which means two or more and this concept can be applied to any team, whether it's a family, a civic club, an agency of government, a sports team, a racing team and especially a business team where employees must work together for the business to succeed. If you have ever worked for a business that went under, you'll appreciate even more what I am saying. What I hope you will do is focus on what I'm about to give you, and even type it up, put it on the wall or the refrigerator and even make copies and disseminate them to your employees.

Without further comment, here is "The Profile Of A Dream Team": Works toward a common goal, Develops its members skills, Efficiently uses its time and talents, Embraces the diversity of its members, Is committed to continuous improvement, Builds morale internally, Performs effectively and produces results, Accepts praise and criticism, Cooperates rather than competes, Maintains a positive attitude toward everyone's ideas, Stays on task, Uses resources wisely, Communicates openly, Teaches and learns from one another, Resolves conflicts effectively, Welcomes challenges, Shares pride in its accomplishments and Celebrates successes!!

Now granted, that's a lot of words, but I will guarantee that if you will go back to the beginning, read it again, think it through and go logically from one point to the next, you will have an agenda that can't miss. Believe me, success and achievement is no accident. It comes from setting goals, developing short and long range plans and the constant up-grade and improvement of all the individual members of the team. A word of caution here. Don't ever overlook the janitor, bus driver, receptionist, clerk, waitress and others in lower paying positions. These people are some of the most important people in the organization and they should be treated this way. What do you think would happen in your neighborhood if the garbage collector didn't come by for a few weeks? Thanks David, I appreciate your sharing "Profile Of A Dream Team" and hope our readers do, too. (Jim Davidson is a motivational speaker and syndicated columnist. You may contact him at 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR , AR 72034.)