"We hated each other, but we loved the Cubs"
The June 12 issue of Fortune has a package of articles on teamwork. Once you get past the intro, written in annoying wannabe hip style, the information in this group is articles is well worth reading.My single favorite line is from one of the sidebars, which is about the brilliant teamwork of Chicago Cubs shortstop Joe Tinker and second baseman Johnny Evers in the early days of the 20th century, when the team was winning pennants (four) and World Series (two). Evers is quoted as saying:
"Tinker and myself hated each other, but we loved the Cubs."I was reminded of a story I heard from a newspaper editor. He recounted how a pair of reporters on related beats needed to work together. Unfortunately, they disliked each other and were refusing to cooperate, instead holing up in different areas of the newsroom, and doing their best to ignore each other.
The editor decided to act. He had a wall in the newsroom removed (the reporters in question were on either side of the wall), and called the two men into his office. He told them they would henceforth be occupying adjoining desks, and they were going to collaborate. He left it to them to figure out a modus vivendi.
According to the editor, the reporters started functioning as a credible team in short order. In part, admittedly, the turnaround was due to the reporters' understanding that continued recalcitrance would put their jobs at risk. But, in the editor's view, the major factor was the dynamic of an open-space newsroom, in which getting stories assigned, written, copy-edited, and laid out under constant deadline pressure, makes cooperation inherently appealing.
The moral of the story: When people believe in the organization's mission, have a boss who lays down behavior norms, lack time for indulging their inner diva, and are visible to co-workers, they will generally pitch in to get the job done.
Labels: Collaboration
posted by Karen Nelson @ 10:18 PM
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