On the Shoulders of Giants

Genius isn’t an island.

Arguably one of the greatest geniuses of our modern era is Albert Einstein. And contrary to myth, young Einstein was not bad at math, nor was he a problematic student in school. No, all signs that he had an aptitude for math, physics, and philosophy were apparent at a young age.

He was digesting the Calculus of Isaac Newton and Benhard Riemann, the mathematics of Henri Poincare and Hendrik Lorentz, and the physics of Maxwell.

That he developed and published his Relative Theory—known popularly as The Theory of Relativity—cannot be diminished, as he took the next logical step of integrating those well-established disciplines into a profoundly transformative understanding of the universe. The entirety of cosmology and nuclear physics hinged on the theories he proposed.

I like to think of this process, though best described as a chronological trajectory, as the work of a team. Einstein wasn’t an island; he was part of a team—even if the contributions of the team extended across decades and centuries.

You know by this time that the success of your business depends upon the depth and breadth of your team’s connections, and its ability to manage projects and problem solve extend from those connections. Your business is not dependent solely on a lone genius who directs from some basement captain’s chair.

What factors reinforce the success of that team? In Einstein’s case, it was access to information. Certainly, reading published works, translated to German. As he continued working, he was corresponding with contemporaries in conferences, letters, and eventually phone calls. Information is communication. Consuming a book, while initially a one-way conveyance, eventually becomes two-way, as you read and ask questions and correspond with other students who share your interests.

Anything that suppresses that information exchange directly squelches the success of a team. How does information—communication—get suppressed in a work environment? I often encounter team project silos: teams with overlapping or complementary goals that are insulated from each other in teams’ correspondence. Sometimes I see hierarchical gatekeeping; middle management frugal with sharing the keys or not eliminating roadblocks to their own team’s goals. And then there’s static, friction, or complete blackout of communication with clients.

Consequences? Project overruns. Scope creep. Receivables unreceived. Team disconnection. Staff turnover. Lost time and even more lost money. Business failure. Bankruptcy.

How can you tell if a team is experiencing threats to their success? If you only hear from them when it’s bad, consider that there’s some hierarchical gatekeeping stifling constructive reporting. Perhaps meetings don’t feel collaborative. Absenteeism or a lack of enthusiastic engagement. Cost overruns on shared resources. Angry client calls.

It may be time to bring in some experts. Maybe you’ve diagnosed the problems your teams are having, and you understand that professional intervention is necessary. Or you’ve experienced this before in another capacity, maybe in home life, at another business, or a hobbyist group you belong to. What’s important is that you know something is wrong.

ComedySportz trainers are experts in communication training. Now this may come as a bit of a surprise, but ComedySportz performers are excellent at communication. They have the ability to collaborate both with words and wordlessly to create entire worlds of imagination and hilarity. As though they’re performing a script. Yet they do it entirely unscripted, improvised in the moment. Each performer’s genius is scaffolded by the genius of their teammates. No one performer is solely responsible for the success of their show. Some of the most unexpected and creative moments happen during a show. And although the performance is unscripted, the performer’s training is not. In fact, ComedySportz performers go through rigorous training that prepares them for the unexpected and empowers their creative, comedic genius. They learn a process that delivers success.

ComedySportz trainers have spent decades training companies, associations, government departments, churches, synagogues, charities, and hobby groups how to perform together well as a team. Mastering frictionless communication, creative collaboration, and actual joy. While the goal is about discovering the next genius, the journey is the true reward.

Your teams’ geniuses need their colleagues—geniuses themselves—to share, support, uplift, and unfetter, so that none are an island. Having that kind of teammate propels your company into meteoric success. Standing on the shoulders of giants extends your team’s reach to the stars.

Visit our https://www.comedysportzaustin.com/hire-us page or book a quick and free discovery call with us at https://www.calendly.com/mike-topel/30mins to see how our ComedySportz trainers can unleash your team.