Accomplish Your Dream, Have A Good Team

Having a good team is fundamental in accomplishing your dreams. In this complex corporate world, no single person can have all the answers. The world is changing so rapidly that even a team comprising internal experts is overwhelmed in trying to follow and monitor the changes.

The internal team should also include the use of external consultants and experts to bring in knowledge and skills that are currently not available in the company.

Similar to a surgical operation, a company needs a team to successfully perform a turnaround. Turnaround is seldom a one-person show. Most well-orchestrated corporate comeback teams are fielded with the best talents from within or outside the company including skilled professionals such as insolvency lawyers, auditors and turnaround consultants.

The first step, especially during the surgical stage is to assemble the turnaround team by getting everyone on board. Change is crucial and is characteristic of a turnaround process.

Preferably, the team should comprise the turnaround manager, whether appointed from outside the organisation or seconded internally, the financial controller and other key internal staff. The team must work closely with the other stakeholders such as the shareholders, creditors and union.

Whatever the composition, the team must move swiftly like the SWAT unit. Members need to regularly update each other on the status as well as progress of the specific duties of each member. There must be a clear and unchallenged team leader who has the final say in case of dissenting views.

Flexibility is the key and the team may be changed periodically as the situation warrants. For instance, once the company turns around and the financial crisis blows over, the company may need to transform its corporate culture. The team needed at this stage is a change agent. It calls for a more democratic and participative team as opposed to the 'surgical' team, which calls for a more autocratic one.

Thus increasingly, human resource management has recognised the importance of good teamwork as an ingredient to the success of the company. Staff appraisal system has recognised one's ability to work as a team and not just individual performance as a key measurement of the staff's performance. Nicor Steel put great emphasis on teamwork.

There are cases whereby staff voluntarily chase out their own colleagues who are poor performers. The staff of Nicor Steel are one of the highest paid employees in the industry.

Companies too need to work in teams. No company is an island. Companies also need to team up share expertise, financial resources and technology. Companies at times too need to consider teaming up with their competitors in strategic alliances when venturing overseas.

In today's corporate world, things are no longer cut dried and clean. For instance, there are mega infra-structural projects that require the competitors to pool their financial resources together to clinch mega-projects, which are too big for any single player to handle.

In the pharmaceutical industry, R&D development costs for new drug development may be too prohibitive and requiring a few pharmaceutical companies to pool together their resources towards its development. As a matter of fact, pharmaceutical companies are merging and teaming up because of the phenomenal development costs. Some studies indicate that in the years to come, there may only be five major pharmaceutical companies left worldwide as compared to the current few dozens.

Therefore no man or company can be an isolated island. A good team is vital to fulfilling your dream.