Work together...

For many companies, this is budget season: when everyone plans next year’s business initiatives and projections. It’s an intense time that calls for studying historical data, market trends, competitive landscapes, best practices and creative ideas. It’s also a time to remember that working together with others – those you interact with all the time and others that support you indirectly: it’s today’s adaptation of the old truism “two heads are better than one”. It combines resources and brings more to the planning and implementation efforts; it takes full advantage of multiple and diverse perspectives to help see and understand more; and it can produce quicker go-to-market strategies and results.  And it’s another opportunity to reduce business silos and myopic thinking. Being aware of the interdependence of things creates cross-functional caring and commitments: seeing, supporting, and appreciating how everything affects everyone else can be the ultimate team-building exercise. That awareness recognizes the critical interdependencies that exist, improves understanding of shared needs, aligns interests and efforts, and creates a more robust team environment. Keep an eye out for how you overlap with others today.

Thomas Merton (1915-1968): Theologian, Author