It takes a variety of people to run any business. The goal is to find out who those people are, what talents they have, and how best to use those talents.
I used to think that there were just workhorses and show ponies in any industry. Workhorses were the people behind the scenes that made sure everything ran smoothly by supporting the show ponies’ efforts. Show ponies were customer-facing people in sales and customer service roles whose job it was to bring in new business. However, as we all know, the reality is that it’s so much more involved than that.
I picture a team as building blocks. If I gave 10 people identical boxes full of wooden ABC blocks and asked them to build something using all of the pieces, I guarantee that no two creations would be the same because we all view things differently.
Some people are black and white thinkers. These are the ones who might build a wall of wooden blocks arranged neatly in alphabetical order. Others with creative minds might have transformed this pile of blocks into a creature, or vehicle, or contraption of sorts in a myriad of colors. They most likely won’t care if the wooden blocks spell words or the letters are upside down or sideways.
Why does this matter to a business? The answer is simple. You want people on your team to be in the right places so that both the person and the business can succeed. Someone once told me that you have to “get where you fit” and then you will be happy and successful. It takes all kinds of people with all kinds of talents and skills to make a team work, regardless of whether or not some of the people are seen by customers. It’s critical to take time to discover those talents on your team to be able to utilize them to their fullest potential.
A person who is terrified of interacting with people but is organized and detail-oriented probably won’t be the best fit for your sales team, but could really excel in a back office department working with reports or processing paperwork.
In the same manner, the person who loves to talk to everyone but is working in that same back office department might love the opportunity to be a part of the sales or customer service team.
Once you have the right people in the right places, you will find happy and successful people working in a business that runs like a well-oiled machine. All you need to do is perform regular maintenance to make sure everything continues to run smoothly.
When I look at First Business Bank, it’s evident that investing in people and developing talent is a priority. We have many different levels of experience and backgrounds that all blend together to make a truly unique team….a group of blocks…all working together to build something truly special.
