By Pat Rose
BBB President
My grand-daughter Melissa just completed her master's degree in business education and statistics at the University of Akron. I'm very proud of her because she worked very hard to get that degree.

She worked full time to put herself through college. I always enjoyed talking to her about school and the interesting and not-so- interesting classes she had to take to achieve her degrees.

Most of all I remember the story she told about a final exam she had to take before she was admitted to the master's program.

By this time, all the exams were tough but she studied hard and had passed everything except for this last class. She reviewed all her notes and felt confident that she would do OK.

Then she read the final question that accounted for 25% of the grade. It was, "What is the name of the person who cleans your dorm?"

How could she be expected to know the name of the janitor? She and several others in the class questioned the professor if this answer really counted so much toward their grade.

"Yes, it does," said the teacher. "Most of you dream about being the president of a successful company, maybe even your own company, but success is a team effort. A good leader takes nothing for granted and recognizes the contributions made by everyone on the team even those people who appear to do the most insignificant jobs"

It was a lesson Melissa will never forget, nor will I. Truth is, I didn't know anything about the maintenance people who took care of the building where the BBB is, but I do now.

It is important for an organization to recognize that teamwork is essential to the company's success.Think of teamwork as a tug of war.

An unsuccessful team has three kinds of problem people who will prevent a company from being successful.

Look for team members who give an all-out effort, but don't pull in unison with their teammates. They are out of synch with everyone else. Another member may hold on to the rope but isn't really pulling. They are part of the team in name only. The third and worst kind of teammate is one who actually pulls in the opposite direction. They work against their teammates and can poison a team with dissention.

It is up to you to create a positive and diverse team. The person who maintains the equipment is a very important team member. This person can tell you what equipment is outdated or needs repairs.

An appointment-setter and assistant to your sales team can tell you about trends in the marketplace. This person may be finding an unusually high rate of disconnected phones or returned mail. Or your customers may be saying to this person, "I'm not going to reorder. I haven't been satisfied with the service I've been getting from your company."

How important is it for you to hear about these conversations? Very! Make sure you are never the one whose participation makes a team worse.

I hope if you are a manager or business owner that you create teams of diverse members in your company and coach them to be the best source of ideas to continually improve your company.

The Better Business Bureau wishes you and your team a more prosperous 2009 and a bright future in this Mahoning Valley.

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For more information about teamwork and how it can impact your company, call the BBB at 330 744 3111.

Copyright 2008 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.