Small Wins FTW
It’s July and so because I’m in the midst of my annual 24/7 obsession with the Tour de France — my favorite time of year for REAL, I’ve been thinking a lot about teamwork and about winning.
In between keeping track of each stage’s winners and the Top 10 through that day’s stage, and listening to about four different cycling-related podcasts, I’ve been considering what winning means, especially in the context of Do Your Thing. And I’ve been musing, too, on what the team is and who’s on it.
Because that part’s clear to me. That’s what Do Your Thing offers: teamwork. Sometimes I call it a partnership for success, which really is just another way of saying teamwork.
When you embark on working with us, you’re no longer CEO-ing alone. Nope, you’ve got us. We’re handling your books for you, but it’s more than that. We’re on your team, cheering, pulling. We’re working with you towards your success, towards that win on your terms.
To do that well, really well, we need to understand for ourselves what the team means, what the win means for that team. Because if I’ve learned anything at all from this year’s Tour de France, it’s that it’s the team that makes the difference in any individual’s ability to pull off the win. Sure, talent and hard work matter a ton, but when you’ve the full force of a team of committed people working together toward one goal, it’s like you’re delivered safely to that win.
The best engagements for me, for us, are always those where we really feel like what we do makes a difference, that we have the full engagement of the client, that we’re contributing something of strategic value. It’s a collaboration. That’s the team.
On our end, what we’re always setting up is a series of small, progressive wins for our clients, tiny manageable triumphs and accomplishments that take our ideal client from overwhelmed and anxious to competent and confident. These small wins connect to each other, and little bit by little bit, move the needle. Sometimes the transformation is swift and magical, but more often it’s a succession of deliberate thoughtful steps, month by month, designed to take our teammates from confusion and stress to a place that’s so much more empowered.
To deliver them safely to the win.
It’s easy to get caught up in the details of the day-to-day in any of our businesses. Fortunately, I have this annual opportunity of my lifelong fandom of the Tour de France to reflect on how what we do, while less glamorous (and much less dangerous!), creates potent wins no less thrilling for the people involved. For all of the people on the team.
