played, often and frequently scoring the highest number of points the game would allow. He claims it became a calming break from his stressful schedule between classes, maybe too often. As he began to learn the patterns of success, implementing similar patterns in his work became more and more evident. Always tackling the nearest risk of collision first and working toward the least likely was his first connection with his schoolwork. Later he would apply the “greatest down to least threat” strategy to his work environment.
Early in his career, Andy worked for a property manager who managed a small condo association. Although he no longer had frequent encounters with the original Atari Asteroid game, he had at this point played the game in his head to solve problems. To give an example, Andy was simply managing the maintenance of signs on the grounds. A large storm had hit earlier in the week and close to fifty signs were damaged, that Andy was to oversee. On an average day he might have one or two signs to repair or replace. A relatively young guy and all of sudden he had fifty times the work for one day. As he was telling me the story I thought, “Oh then was that an asteroid that just hit you?” He said, “Well, you do get a couple of lives in the game!” That was an incredibly positive view of the situation. Andy said he had pro-actively created a list of every sign that was at this location prior to the storm. He told me that an asteroid can hit at any time and you have to be ready to move that little triangular ship to avoid a collision. Funny how that one move he made gave him recognition in front of his boss.
Later that year, Andy received the promotion that a couple of his co-workers expected. He has said repeatedly he received the promotion from the way he handled the signs before and after the storm. Andy realized preparing for an inevitable asteroid collision is an expectation to advance a solution to propel his future. His persistence to perfect and complete project after project eventually catapulted him into the project manager position. Of course, he could not give asteroids all the credit. He had many – what he called – lucky breaks and a fair share of important and timely influences that helped him along his way.
Andy moved into increasingly more important roles as he began to work with larger and larger corporations. Managing his staff, he has found some common ground with the level of success he had achieved and how to get the best out of his staff. He recognized early on in his career that visually creating something new is very exciting and challenging. He noticed his career advanced each time he took on more responsibility. Adding to his staff he was able to achieve more and more over time. He often said that you can hit more asteroids with more fighters.
1.) Focus on the biggest threat or the closest asteroid that might threaten your existence.
Here are some things you can count on: Without developing the employee culture, you could be turning your back on
44 | COMMON INTEREST®
the largest asteroid. Developing leaders requires bringing out the best in your employees. Great leaders speak of contributions of others, not their own. Someone seeking to serve, over someone seeking power, might help you accomplish the goal.
Make sure you give credit where credit is due; that’s a simple way to reward team goals. President Harry Truman is attributed with saying: “You can accomplish anything in life, provided you don’t mind who gets credit.” Everyone involved should feel the value of contribution. As Andy said, if we are going to take down more asteroids, we need more pilots; every team member needs to command their own destiny to some degree. When a pilot is successful at the common goal, it only makes sense that you’re multiplying your accomplishments. Identify all of your team members as leaders. It should be known that everyone on the team will eventually be a leader. Becoming a great leader requires someone who keeps an eye on the team’s goal and identifies who came to serve a greater cause for a larger whole. No matter what we do, it is a form of leadership. In doing so, you are going to isolate a leader’s motivation, good and bad. Take time with your leaders individually and encourage them often to get the best out of them.
2.) Building a collaborative team with positive communication.
If we are all shooting at the same asteroid while another is approaching quickly and is being ignored, what good does all this great leadership mean? Spread out, communicate and collaborate on what is needed. Share the vision with positive communication. But also be willing to listen to the ideas of others. Utilize strengths where they fit best. Let the pilots be pilots and shooters be shooters. The higher degree of positive communication you have, the more likely the success of a mission or project. This collaborative effort will result in team success over individual success. Over time what you are building is a team of winners that will begin to hold themselves accountable. You are changing your employees into leaders and your team into a self- accounting success. A successful team will begin to take on more and more responsibility and increasingly more difficult tasks without needing to be micro-managed.
3.) Recognize and reward your team and its members.
Evaluating the team as a whole is often easier than evaluating the individual team members. It is easy to see if the team has reached its goal or not. If they have, you should reward them: buy them lunch and perhaps offer a little time off work. Encourage them all you can as a team and the next task will come even easier.
Now it is a little harder to find out who were the best performers on the team. You will have to dig in a little bit to find the answers if you haven’t already. Staying involved in the progress makes the evaluation much easier. All along you should be spreading your joy, wisdom, and encouragement
• Summer 2021 • A Publication of CAI-Illinois Chapter
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