The New Nimble

CHAPTER 5Learn What Others Value

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

—African Proverb

If we want to go fast and go far, we need to bring our team with us. Dragging people with us kicking and screaming does not create a “nimble” group. We are more likely to succeed if we inspire people to hone their innovative instincts, and help them develop both an inquisitive mindset and creative and collaborative behaviors. We can't control when massive change will impact the economy, our industry, or our own organization. We can, however, build our team in a way that allows us to respond when we need to be nimble. To do so requires asking ourselves what kind of team we need in place to be more successful, both at recruiting talent and building that talent to serve our clients.

Teams come in many shapes and sizes. A unit of military recruits forges into a team during training. A gaggle of grade-school soccer players learns to act as a team as they respond to the often-exasperated calls from the coach on the sideline. Your tech/sales/associate/analyst cohort joined your organization as individuals, and some may still function as independent contributors. But if you want to go fast and go far in the nimble-necessary environment we all live in now, you'll need to consolidate that cohort into a cohesive, collaborative pack of professionals. First, you should consider what kind of team you need to succeed. Second, you should develop that team's instincts ...