Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Lesson #4


We each bring something unique and critical to the success of TEAMride.  It has been fun to see how our personality traits have segued into key roles in the business.  We have decided that identifying your strengths and weaknesses early on is a major factor in the eventual success or demise of your business.  There are amazing checks-and-balances that occur when you have the right group of people working together.  The give and take seems effortless; one person’s weakness is taken up by another’s strength. Lucky for us, the four of us work well together; otherwise, things could get scary.

Lesson #4:
The “We are glad we all balance one another out, otherwise we’d be broke, not talking and business-less” Lesson


“It’s 8:01, you’re officially late.  If you were my employee you would be fired.” -Michelle via text message to Elena

Elena arrives at the dining room table aka “the office” a few minutes later, coffee cup in hand and a smile on her face. 

How’s that for checks-and-balances? 

Michelle’s strengths are clear. She is efficient, punctual, manages multiple tasks with ease and knows how to delegate.  Her years of work in the corporate world make her an invaluable resource for our business. With her around, our productivity level is at an all-time high J She and Elena work extremely well together because Elena is a real doer and she never says “No,” no matter the task.  She may appear to lack initiative but she sure can execute, with a smile and uncanny sense of calm.  She frequently stops Michelle from freaking out by reminding her, “We are not a multi-billion dollar corporation, we are a small business, relax, have fun.” Checks-and-balances.

While we are all friendly and social girls, Teresa is THE people person. When none of us wants to put on a “happy face,” we can depend on Tere to talk to anyone, at any time, about anything.  She promotes our business at any opportunity and that is exactly what a small business needs... an advocate.  This “over-sharing” does have one downside; she is inevitably tardy on her work days at TEAMride HQ because she spent 20 minutes chatting in some parking lot “drumming up business!” With an excuse like that it is hard to get mad. If it weren’t for Teresa, we would have a more challenging time spreading the word. Checks-and-balances.

Alicia and Teresa balance one another on the money front. If it was up to Alicia, our floors would be tile flown in from Italy and chandeliers would be hung wherever possible. If it was up to Teresa, our interior would look as sterile and uninteresting as a hospital. Thankfully, they can find a happy medium. Teresa watches the bottom line and questions every monetary decision; annoying sometimes, but incredibly smart in the long run. Alicia finds discounts where she can and has scaled down her tastes for the sake of Teresa’s blood pressure. Checks-and-balances.  

Varying strengths and personalities make for one hell of a TEAM. We hope you all agree!

1 comment:

  1. I love you girls! You do make an awesome TEAM! And yes, life is all about checks-and-balances. I could use each one of your strengths in my own business venture...:)

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