TEAMWORK

I often think back to events in my life that helped shape my character. Some were positive, some were negative and some were a mixture but, all helped shape who I am today. These cumulative events shaped the values and beliefs that guide the decisions I make every day. I want to share one experience with you that instilled my belief in teamwork. It’s a short story and I hope you will enjoy it.

I grew up in Miami, FL before it became the cosmopolitan city it is today. At the time I was growing up there were still Seminole Indian villages in the Everglades. These people lived a subsistence existence off the bounty the land provided. They lived in what are called chickees. A chickee is ideally suited for the everglades. It is four posts supporting a platform with a thatched roof overhead. They also used dug out canoes and cooked community meals in a big pot in a separate kitchen chickee which served the entire village.

My father always had an extended community of friends. I remember a host of eccentric characters coming to visit my home and one of those characters was a Seminole Indian named Mike Osceola. Mike was always coming by with game to share. One time he invited my father to go hunting with some of the men from the village and he encouraged my father to bring along a couple of his friends. My father eagerly accepted Mike’s invitation and invited two of his friends. One was the owner of a swamp buggy and the other was a friend who had a son my age. Before I continue with my story, I should describe a swamp buggy. It is an open air automobile like contraption with over size tractor tires and it sits very high off the ground. This allows it to go through the water in the Everglades without drowning out the engine and the tractor tires give it additional traction in the boggy swamp.

We left before dawn one morning and rode the swamp buggy about five miles off the Tamiami Trail to the village. It was on a hill surrounded by water covered with sawgrass. This is called a pine hammock. The pine hammock was high ground and had a forest of trees which provided shade and shelter. The village was a collection of chickees and it was made up of about a dozen families. My father and the other men left me and my friend in the village with the other children while they went into the everglades to hunt deer, hogs, turkeys and other game. During their absence my friend and I were cared for by the women of the village and we spent our days with the village children. We fished, gigged frogs, paddled around in the dugout canoes and played games. What a great time we had! When the men returned from the two day hunt, we packed up our gear and headed back across the Everglades in the dune buggy. As I said before the Tamiami Trail was about five miles away. After about three miles, we blew out a tire on the dune buggy and we were stranded in the middle of the “sea of grass”.

What were we to do? At that time there were no cell phones and we did not have a radio to call for help. The only option was to get into the swamp and walk two miles to the highway where we could find help. The water came up to my chest and sometimes as high as my neck. My friend was about my same size so he had the same difficulty. The walking was hard because the ground was not firm but had a thick layer of decomposed grass on the bottom that we call muck. It would suck at your feet with every step. We also had to carry our .22 caliber rifles over our heads. This is when I learned about teamwork. My friend tired first and I offered to help him by carrying his rifle along with my own. This allowed him to recover some of his strength. He then asked me if he could help by carrying both rifles for awhile. I readily agreed as my arms, by that time, were burning like they were on fire. After awhile, I took back the rifles and so we alternated for the two miles we had to walk. We also helped each other by pointing out where the drop offs were in the swamp and we both looked out for snakes and alligators. Most importantly, we kept each others spirits high by relating stories, telling jokes, sharing riddles and singing songs. By the time we reached the highway we were exhausted, but our spirits were high because we had accomplished something together that may not have been possible if we were alone.

Where were the men during this hike? They had their own challenges because they were carrying their own rifles as well as critical gear. Most importantly though, they recognized they did not have to help us because we were helping each other. They saw we were practicing teamwork and they knew that would be enough to keep us going.

The same is true in business. Building an atmosphere of teamwork can result in success for all. A team can help each other get through the rough spots and provide a synergy of resources by shared experiences and talents. It is important to build an environment in your business that nurtures and encourages teamwork. That is one of the foundations of our company, Silver Creek Partners. We not only work together as a team but, we build teamwork with our customers. We feel we are part of their team and their corporate culture. Whether we are providing recruiting assistance to attract, hire and retain key employees or, if we are providing consulting assistance, we are part of the team. Our values are fundamental. Find what helps our customer and do it. I hope this story helps you focus on the value of teamwork. We welcome the opportunity to be part of your team.

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Jedwards@scpartnersinc.com