To Inspire:

My wife Lisa and I recently saw the movie Pressure, the historical WW II film that focuses on the tense 72-hour weather forecast that General Eisenhower needed to make a go/no go decision for the invasion at Normandy.

We both loved it and I came away from it thinking about the need to rely on others for many of the decisions and issues we face in life. Eisenhower needed the expertise of British meteorologist, RAF Group Captain James Stagg and his team to provide as accurate a weather forecast as possible 3 days before the invasion was scheduled to take place. Without reasonable weather, the air cover, ship landings, and thousands of troop deployments would not be able to happen.

But relying on others is not easy. We must give up control, trust others, and accept the possibility that something could go wrong. On the other hand, we get to see others step up, learn that we don’t have to control everything and discover that things can go even better than they would have if we tried to do it all ourselves.

My brother Mark and I look back at the building of this company and see the power and purpose of building a team. We both had left larger and somewhat challenging work environments, and our initial thought was to keep The Joseph Group very small and focused on relatively few clients. But clients soon began referring others to us and as we grew, we realized that we needed to build a team. It was the best decision we ever made in our business lives as bringing in others also brought in their skills (many of which we didn’t possess), their passion for our mission and the ability to pursue a path of growth. Our company is making a much bigger impact today than we ever could have had we stayed small.

How about you? What issues do you face in your personal life or work life that would benefit by involving others and depending on them? How can you share the responsibilities on your plate with others – in a way that benefits everyone involved? If you’re somewhat of a control person, practice turning over control (and trust) in some small situations and see how it goes. Be clear as to duties and expectations and allow others to add their skills and creativity to the process. I bet you’ll find a better result than anything you could have accomplished on your own.

Relying on others is part of building a great life – for ourselves and for them!

Have a great weekend.

Written by Matt Palmer, Partner & Co-Founder