“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – african proverb
We may have heard another similar saying by Native American Chief and warrior Tecumseh, “A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong.” In other words, “we” is greater than “me.” The true measure of success is not necessarily the value that one creates for him or herself alone, but the values that bring a community together to accomplish something bigger as a unit. These values define how your work ethic is conducted and also how you lead your life.
According to Arkadi Kuhlmann, chairman and president of ING Direct USA, “Leadership is about service,” he once told a New York Times interviewer, “and you can’t lead if you can’t follow. It’s never about you. It is always about the mission. And people will follow you if you’re prepared to get a mission done, something with a goal that is a little bit beyond the reach of all of us.”
This is an extremely valuable insight. It is also an intrinsic value that is exemplified in the company culture of another famous entrepreneur, billionaire Elon Musk. As one of the founders of PayPal, and now leading Space X and Tesla, he expresses that the importance that members of his teams get along is critical.
While it is easy to call out the successes of “one” individual in the age of artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, information technology, entrepreneurship, and startups, the individualism in business rarely achieves substantial success alone. The truth is that the most successful companies and their leaders spend the majority of their efforts focusing on the vision that is immensely greater than themselves. As a unit, they have a sense of purpose to bring something innovative to the world and are willing to take a little longer to work through the challenges as a team to deliver a better product and/or service to the world.
What are your thoughts? Do you have a big dream that you can only accomplish so much alone? Let’s honor all who support us and our amazing team members.