Building Your Team To Rock Your Business
Building Your Team of “Sexy X-Factors” that will Rock Your Business (and the World)
Napoleon Hill, the late author of Think and Grow Rich and The Law of Success (he basically pioneered the whole self-help field) repeatedly emphasized the principle of forming a mastermind alliance.
This mastermind alliance would be a group of people who share similar aspirations as you do, and have the drive, intelligence, persistence, and clarity to reach for their star shining brilliantly in a sky of mediocrity. I’m going to use this idea of a mastermind alliance as a springboard for talking about a team of “Sexy X-factors,” and how you can build this team to an impressive degree (thereby rocking your business, you know?).
Let’s say, for example, that right now you’re virtually a solo act, with few team members. How are you going to go about building a team that not only does the job but does the job well?
This is another way of asking: how do you put together a team that has the right “Sexy X-Factor” that resonates with your brand and target audience? Hmm? Hmmmmmmm? (Sorry – my tidal waves of enthusiasm carry me away sometimes!)
How about we dive in?
The First Step
The first step is to define the purpose of the team of “Sexy X-Factors.” Is it to increase profits by 100% while remaining loyal to your customers, employees, and values? Is it to instill greater confidence in your customers? Think about the exact, definite purpose of this team you’re about to create. Make sure this vision is always in your head when you’re creating this rockstar dream team.
The Second Step
Where are you going to find your team members? There are several ways you can find good, excellent “Sexy X-Factor” team members.
First, look to your network – the Rolodex of people you already know, and you’ve worked with. Do any of them fit well with (1) your personality and your personal chemistry, and (2) your purpose for the team? If yes, you have a good candidate to add to your “mastermind alliance,” or as I would call it, your “Sexy X-Factors.”
Secondly, if you need more team members and you can’t find them all in your network, ask people you know if they know anyone who might be a valuable addition to your team. It never hurts to ask!
Here’s another idea that might work very well for you: put out an ad. In the newspaper or online or a bulletin board or somewhere. But not just any ole’ ad. It’s got to be written in such a way that it only speaks to exactly the kind of people you want. If you need inspiration, just read this ad by David Ogilvy, the advertising maven of the 20th century:
Wanted by Ogilvy and Mather International
FIVE KINDS OF CREATIVE DIRECTORS
Trumpeter Swans
In my experience, there are five kinds of Creative Director:
Sound on strategy, dull on execution.
Good managers who don’t make waves…and don’t produce brilliant campaigns either.
Duds.
The genius who is a lousy leader.
TRUMPETER SWANS who combine personal genius with inspiring leadership.
We have an opening for one these rare birds in one of our offices overseas. Write in inviolable secrecy to me, David Ogilvy…
Pretty tight, isn’t it? In just a few, short lines it snaps clearly and crisply like a firecracker – so all who are right for the job will hear it.
You want team members that will exist in a spirit of complete harmony with the other team members, and with you. You want team members that go the extra mile – the extra thousand miles – for the definite purpose (and be sure that you do this, too!).
Think about these ways you can find team members for your team, and perhaps you’ll come up with even more ways (and hey, if you do, feel free to tell me!).
The Third Step
The third and final step is to give each team member – each of your Sexy X-Factors, an individual purpose. When the team as a whole has an inspiring, moving vision – and when each team member also has an individual purpose – that’s when the sparks fly and leadership and initiative, and progress is born.
And there you have it! I’d love for you to tell me how your team-building project is going, so feel free to get in touch with me if you’ve got any questions.
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