I had the occasion to speak to a college class the other day.  It was a management strategy class of seniors at the B-school of a major university.  My opening statement was the title of this piece.  I asked them to name what I was referring to.  The first response I got was “Profit.”  WRONG!

The answer, you may already realize is “People.”  I could have asked what was the most important factor in life.  Same answer.  “People” will have a more profound effect on your life, your work, your success and yes, your happiness, than any other factor—by a wide margin.

Remember the terror of 9/11, when the World Trade Center towers were smoking, with people trapped on the upper floors, unable to get down.  Thousands of people successfully evacuated the World Trade Center, shaken, terrified, but alive.  More people got out than died by a factor of at least five.  But over two thousand died.  Some were brave NYFD firefighters and other rescue workers.  Most were employees of businesses located on those scenic top floor offices.

The spectacular view became a spectacular nightmare in a few short minutes.  The businesses whose people perished in that terrorist attack were devastated.  Some ceased to exist, and others were severely crippled.  They lost their most valuable asset:  People.  The companies whose employees escaped were spared, and in fact, a few short days later, were back in business in temporary quarters.

Stop and think about every success you’ve ever enjoyed.  Somewhere, integral to it, were people.  Think about the influences on your as you grew up and developed as an adult, as a professional, as a person.  Teachers, coaches, mentors, parents, close relatives, friends all influenced what you became.

Why would anyone expect the business world—and success in it—to work any differently?  What a person can’t do alone, they get help from associates, colleagues and often work as teams.  It takes a while for a team to become a close-knit, effective unit, but when it does, the results can be spectacular.  But, change just one member of the team—one person—and the team must “readjust” and find a new rhythm, integrating that new person into its habits and behaviors.

Sociologists have a series of terms for what teams (or any work group) go through en route to operating effectively.  Forming, storming, norming and then performing are the words that describe these steps.

• Forming is the stage in which each person stakes out what role they would prefer to play, or not play in the team’s efforts.  There is usually some give and take; some conflict about who will do what, and who will NOT do what.  That leads to the next stage.
• Storming is the process by which these conflicts are worked out.  And they must be worked out, or they will cripple the team and render it ineffective.  Storming in this context is like nature:  sometimes it will be mild; at others it will be severe.  And then it will be over and the next stage can start.
• Norming is agreeing on a set of behavioral norms—rules, if you will—about how the members of the team will work together, interact and behave.  This is what a single replacement team member messes up.  One person changes, and the previously norms might be disrupted.  A truly effective group of people is not a team until they have gone through these stages.  Only then are they ready for the last stage.
• Performing is what people do when they work together collaboratively to achieve more as a unit than they could have individually.  Not all jobs are “team jobs.”  Some tasks are ideally suited to be done by individuals. These individuals may be team members, but in that particular job, don’t need the help of teammates.  In other cases, it takes the collective wisdom or creativity or cooperation of the people who make up the team to get the task, job or project done successfully.

Through it all, one constant remains.  People.  Find the best people; get them working together passionately, toward a worthy, common goal; provide them the resources they need; make sure they have a viable plan; the other P—profits—will follow.  Trust me.  I’ve been there; done that.

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About the Author: John L. Mariotti is President and CEO of The Enterprise Group. He was President of Huffy Bicycles, Group President of Rubbermaid Office Products Group, and now serves as a Director on several corporate boards. He has written eight business books and a novel and has been a conference keynote speaker, a radio talk-show host, and a multi-national columnist for IndustryWeek, Management Centre Europe, the American Management Association, Fortune Small Business, Tiempo de Mercadeo, and a contributor to Business – The Ultimate Resource and the Encyclopedia of Health Care Management. His electronic newsletter THE ENTERPRISE is published weekly. His Web site is The Enterprise Group.

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