One On One

One On One

One on one is a basketball term.  It is where you play against one other player, one on one.  This is what separates the smack talkers from the ball players.  I am way past the age that I can take anyone on in a game of one on one…except for maybe a 5 years old.  I can still smack talk though.  Talk is cheap.  LOL.

This is a game of raw competition.  It is you against the other guy, trying to figure out how to either defend the hoop or get to the hoop. It is very physical and extremely demanding as there is nobody to hand the ball off to except your opponent.  It is fun for a time, but typically you don’t last as long because of the energy expended.  It takes a toll on you physically.

There is a similarity in the business world.  If you are a solo guy, you may be the best there is when you are on the court.  But what happens if you get hurt and you can’t work?  Nobody wants to think about that, but it happens every day.

I have a dear friend of mine who has been flying solo for years and really enjoying the ride.  He has been very successful and is well known in his industry, working with Fortune 1000 companies’ top executives. He makes a lot of money by most people’s standards.

A few months ago he was out of town and started having what he thought was a heart attack.  He went to the hospital and they could not find anything wrong, so they put him on high blood pressure medicine.  The only problem was…he did not have high blood pressure, and the meds actually made the problem worse!  He was in and out of the hospital over a period of weeks trying to figure out what the heck was going on with him. He had to work from home much of the time and handle everything by phone instead of face to face.  Not a good situation.

He finally figured out the meds were messing him up big time and got of them, but that took weeks for his body to get back to normal.   All the while…the business was still trying to run with him running on 2 cylinders.  When I met with him, I suggested he either bring in a partner and/or hire a qualified sales person.  He did that and brought in a personal assistant also to take some of the administrative things off his plate.  Life is finally calming down for him.   He is back to work, and has resumed most of his duties.

My point?  One on one can be a dangerous game if that is all you do.  You need a team to back you up, support you, fill in the gaps when you are out of town or off sick.  You need a team to take some of the sheer weight off your shoulders.

There are many ways to grow a team.  If you are in the insurance / finance world and you want to bounce some ideas back and forth, I can suggest some reputable agencies that will support you and help you grow.  Even in you are in another industry, I can probably make some suggestions to consider for growing a team.

Life has a way of throwing curves at us, and there is never a good time for a disability.  It is like a flat tire.  Is there ever a GOOD time for a flat?  Not really.  You usually find out as you are getting into your car for an appointment.  A disability is like a really bad and really expensive flat.  You aren’t going anywhere for a while, so you better have plans in place to help you.  A team can keep the vehicle rolling for you and give you time to recuperate.

There is something to be said to having a great team around you…especially when you can’t do everything on your own.  Don’t isolate yourself.  Find a good team to be a part of, then start growing your own team.  No better time than the present.  It is time to get back on the court.  What are you going to do?  One on one, or start building a team?

P.S.  I will be the one on the court that is coaching.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

One Response to “One On One”

  1. Melanie says:

    Reblogged this on Melanie Bennett and commented:
    The program features three face-to-face interview.