The Importance of People

In running any type of team or business you have to learn to work with people. People are an inherent part of any business, whether those people are the managers, the employees, the customers, or just people affected by the output of the business. As the General Manager it is important to empower people on the teams. The belief of empowering people on teams is universal concept that you can find in many teams. Whenever I lead people I remember the quote “You win with people” –Woody Hayes. I think this quote has great meaning because it comes from someone, Hayes, who had to work with people to find success as a football coach.

In business even the great Bill Gates see the importance of empowering people having stated “As we look into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others”. I believe by making people feel important and empowered, they become more productive and cooperative. The best businesses in the industry don’t necessarily focus as much on the product as they do on the people delivering the product, whether the product is a drink at a bar or a building built by a team of people working together.

In working in the Wood Enterprise Institute I have tried to simply guide people. It has worked out as we have all taken the initiative to complete components that will eventually lead to a product. By simply setting deadlines and letting the teams work on the process they were able to assign responsibilities necessary to complete the production of a live edge table. Bringing the team together and letting them make decisions and making sure that there was an agreement on the decisions we were able to overcome obstacles. In making everyone feel equally important, because everyone is equally important in a way, the team communication and the team dynamic is strong.

A great example of the strengths of the team communication can be found in how easy it is for us to seek help from Danny and everyone else on the team. Pictured to the left is the table top which about six of us worked together to glue together. As a team of individuals feel important and motivated towards a common goal they can accomplish anything with time and effort and that is why I feel it is important to empower others