By: Bob Rosner, Allan Halcrow, John Lavin

Two lessons: (1) In all things, remember, mind over matter; (2) There is no such thing as a solo career. That's what I always tell people when they ask me what I've learned during the last couple of years at Global Gadget. I've told a lot of people, too, because what we did attracted a lot of attention.

You probably already know our story, but let me fill you in just in case. Global Gadget is a medium-size manufacturing outfit. We make all kinds of gadgets, doohickeys, and thingamajigs and sell them to other manufacturers and to distributors. My name is Gray Blanderson, and I've worked at Global Gadget for a long time. I started out as a summer intern while I was in school, and then when I graduated I went to work as an engineer. I design a lot of the gadgets that we sell.

There are many different kinds of gadgets, so our company has several divisions. I work in our Appliance Division. We make gadgets that get used as parts in various appliances. Our division has never been the biggest or most important in the company, but we have always turned at least a modest profit. I can't say that anything happening at work was too exciting, but it was steady.

One morning we all came to work and it became very exciting. The head of our division, Virginia Edgarly, told us that Global Gadget was reorganizing. Specifically, the company was taking the Appliance Division and splitting it in two. One division would produce gadgets for large appliances, such as refrigerators and washing machines. The other division would focus on gadgets for small appliances, such as blenders and hair dryers.

That sounds pretty simple, but it was plenty complicated for us. Top management decided to staff the new Large Appliance Division almost entirely with people from other parts of the company. Those of us who had been the core of the Appliance Division were left to run the new Small Appliance Division. There was one really big challenge in that plan: Gadgets for large appliances accounted for about 80 percent of our revenue and most of our profit. That meant that the new division contributed very little revenue and almost no profit to the company. The situation was so bleak that most experts predicted that our division wouldn't survive six months.

As it turns out, six months is exactly how long we had. Virginia told us the company expected to see dramatic improvement in our numbers by the end of six months or the division would be sold or shut down. Either way, we were suddenly fighting for our survival.

Negativity gets you nowhere. Your mind doesn't have greater than 100 percent capacity. Use your full capacity to find ways to get the most out of your relationship with the rest of the team, not to complain about one weak link. If that means that one person on the team only gets 2 percent of your energy, so be it. But if your team is really functioning well together, the members will work to build strengths in each other so there are no weak links.

I've learned something valuable from every single one of my teammates. Can you say that? I know that without any one of us,we wouldn't have accomplished all that we did. Of course, that didn't just happen by itself. We worked hard at working with each other and figuring out how to use our complementary skills. We didn't always succeed. Sometimes we drove each other crazy.

Sometimes the lessons were painful. I feel like I've had every single one of my flaws dissected over the past few months. It's tough to find out what people really think of you. But I could see that if we were to succeed I had to focus on what was best for the team--and therefore for the company--and not worry so much about my own ego.

That's easier said than done. I know. Companies haven't fully recognized the importance of teamwork, either. They say they value teamwork, and heaven help you if you are not perceived as a "team player. " But if companies really valued teamwork, then they would evaluate people-- and pay them--in teams, instead of as individuals.

I've become kind of an evangelist about teamwork, too, because I've seen that it works. We are the proof of that.

None of Us Alone Is Smart Enough. We Need the Rest of the Team.

Listen to yourself talk about your company. Do you describe your company as "we" and "us" or as "they" and "them"? I used to say "them," and now I always say "we. " That's an important shift. It's dumb to spend 8, 9, or 10 hours a day in service of "they"and"them. "The crazy thing is that we are often our own worst enemy. We have the chance to become part of something and we don't grab it.

So what did I learn from the experiences that make up this book? I learned how business really works. I learned how to get our sales process on track. I leaned to repent the Seven Deadly Workplace Sins, and I learned the key to innovation. But the most important thing I learned is that you can take two problems and create one solution. Life is difficult, and work is really difficult. But if we pull together we can find meaning and community at work.

I once heard that a big corporation spent millions of dollars to determine what was most important to people. They summarized the results in two words: simplicity and control. To that I'd add community. Simplicity, control, and community. If we use our gray matters--all our gray matters--we can have it all. Read on. . . .

Gray Blanderson
http://graymattersbook.com