I’ve written about my passion for drafting lists, about completing items not on my list and adding them for the simple pleasure of checking them off, about the time I drafted a list of dating qualities as a widow and then filed it away at the advice of a friend only to discover later that Dan met every. single. requirement.
This blog isn’t about any of that.
It’s about teamwork. (And maybe a little about lists.)
When Dan and I moved back into our refurbished house, there were several projects that needed to be completed. And so a small, magnetic whiteboard appeared on our fridge.
I painted the new sheetrock in the garage and painted an accent wall in the living room. But I know nothing about irrigation systems.
Dan hung display shelves while I gathered and printed photos for the family montage. And together, we eventually moved items from the shop into the house.
Life consists of tasks that sometimes need to be completed individually. No one—for example—can take the bar exam for you.
But oftentimes, an endeavor will flow more effectively when we partner with a spouse, friends, a non-profit, or our co-workers.
This thought from one of the ‘wisdom books’ in the Old Testament:
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. — Ecclesiastes 4:9
This refers to friendships, teams, marriage, organizations.
Two or more people working together, combining their skills and wisdom and abilities, can be exponentially more effective than one person going it alone—whether building a house, playing in an orchestra, rearing children, performing open heart surgery, or putting out fires.
As an example, our 14-year-old grandson, Godfrey, spreads joy wherever he goes with his upbeat attitude on life. A couple from his church loves to bring him along when they visit people who are shut-in because Godfrey brightens up the space when he enters a room. But Godfrey needs the couple to set the appointments and provide transportation. Teamwork.
It was Andrew Carnegie who said:
Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision … It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.
Who’s on your team? Or better yet, whose team are you on?
Side note
You may have noticed there was one item on our refrigerator whiteboard list in a print style significantly different from the rest.
Here’s the odd thing: no matter how often I complete that item and cross it off, it somehow magically reappears.
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