Teams have a higher level of cooperation and cohesiveness, team members have more diverse skills, and there is a stronger group identity in teams than what is found in most conventional small groups. In American corporate culture, the hero is a ruthless, competitive person with a huge ego. Unfortunately, some top ten entrepreneurs and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) do conform to that image. Yet, it is also reassuring that aggressive selfishness is not the only path to success. In fact, in most stable and well-run companies, leaders try to promote subordinates who do not invest all their psychic energy in self-advancement, but use some of it to advance corporate goals. They know that if top management is filled with greedy egotists, the company will eventually suffer for it. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7

Developing effective teams begins with assembling effective team members. The best team members exhibit a We-orientation, are competent in communication, have relevant experience, and problem solving abilities, and they display an optimistic attitude. Matthew Ryan is one example of many managers I have met who have spent a decade or more desperately trying to impress their superiors in order to get promoted. He worked seventy hours and more a week, even when he knew it was not necessary, neglecting his family and his own personal growth in the process. To increase his competitive advantage, Matthew Ryan shared all the credit he could for his accomplishments. However, despite all his efforts, he kept being passed over for important promotions. Finally, Matthew Ryan resigned himself to having reached the ceiling of her career, and decided to find rewards elsewhere. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7

Matthew Ryan spent more time with the family, took up a hobby, became involved in community activities. Because he was no longer struggling so hard, his behavior on the job became more relaxed, and more objective. In fact, he was recognized as being a leader, whose personal agenda took second place to the well-being of the company. Now the general manager was very impressed. This is the kind of person we need at the helm. Matthew Ryan was promoted soon after he had let go of his ambition. His case is by no means rare: To be trusted in a position of leadership, it helps to advance other people’s goals as well as one’s own. Effective team structure is composed of commitment to clear and challenging goals by all members, development of a team identity, designation of clear and appropriate roles, and the structuring of team empowerment. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7

Team leaders should foster participative leadership, insist on a cooperative team climate, and make sure that team members are guided by a cooperative team climate, and make sure that team members are guided by a systematic decision-making and problem-solving process. Congenial relations on the job are important, but the quality of life depends also on innumerable encounters with other people outside of work. This is not as simple as it sounds: each time we stop to speak to another person it takes up some psychic energy, and we become more vulnerable to being ignored, ridiculed, or exploited. Most cultures develop their own peculiar patters for facilitating social interaction. In groups where kindship is the main principle of organization, you may be expected to take a joke with your sisters-in-law but never talk to your mother-in-law. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7

In traditional hierarchical societies like that of ancient China, complex forms of greetings and conventional conversational formulae insured that people could communicate without having to waste time figuring out what to say and how to say it. Americans have perfected a form of easy conversation that fits the mobile and democratic nature of our society; it is superficial heartiness, however, is just as formulaic as those of an African tribe. To gain something from talk to a person, one has to learn something new, either in knowledge or emotions. That requires both participants to concentrate on the interactions which in turn demands psychic energy that generally we are unwilling to invest. Yet a genuine flow of conversation is one of the highlights of existence. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7

The secret of starting a good conversation is really quite simple. The first step is to find out what the other individual’s goals are: What he is interested in at the moment? What is he involved in? What has he or she accomplished, or is trying to accomplish? If any of this sounds worth pursuing, the nest step is to utilize one’s own experience or expertise on the topics raised by the other individual—without trying to take over the conversation, but developing it jointly. A good conversation is like a jam session in jazz, where one starts with conventional elements and then introduces spontaneous variations that create an exciting new composition. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7

If work and relationships are able to provide flow, the quality of everyday life is bound to improve. However, there are no gimmicks, no easy shortcuts. It takes a total commitment to a fully experienced life, one in which no opportunities are left unexplored and no potential undeveloped, to achieve excellence. The organization of the self that makes this possible. It is hard enough, in my business, to figure out what customers want. It is even harder to know what they will want six months from now. Whether you are aiming to sell a unique product or a cheaper version of something that already exists, it is frighteningly easy to make an ordering decision that will result in inventory problems. #RaandolphHarris 7 of 7