The eyes of the sporting nation are upon the Midwest today as the Green Bay Packers prepare to take on the Minnesota Vikings, their arch-rivals from just across the Mississippi River. This particular contest is especially interesting because long-time Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre is lining up with Minnesota against his former team. This drama features so many colorful characters, sub-plots, and accusations that the daytime soap operas are envious.
Many football fans in TASC’s home state of Wisconsin and in Minnesota (where TASC maintains an office with 45 employees and many more Clients and Providers) are now divided into two camps: Green Bay Packer fans, and Brett Favre fans. Fans of the Packers believe that no matter the circumstances that caused Favre to leave Green Bay, he is now on another team, and they want him to lose. Fans of Favre believe the Packers were wrong not to bring back the man who three times was voted Most Valuable Player, and they are pulling for Favre to obtain revenge on the Packers.
I for one, belong to the first group. I believe that no one player is more important than the team. And I take it one step further: once an individual is considered indispensable to the success of an organization, ensuing problems are bound to occur. And just as Brett Favre didn’t win the Super Bowl all by himself, no one individual is solely responsible for TASC’s success. No matter the size of the role, the efforts of everyone here at TASC contribute to the success of our organization.
The Favre-Packers saga has also prompted me to think about what it takes to keep an organization moving forward. I hold fast to one major key to success: never allow your organization to get too satisfied. This means never stop investing in your organization, never stop diversifying your products and services, and never stop training your staff. Failure in any of these areas will make you vulnerable to competitive forces. I don’t blame the Vikings for believing that signing Brett Favre improves their team’s chances this season. And I don’t blame the Packers for thinking it was time to move forward without him. Every team wants high performing players that fit into the overall scheme of the team. That is certainly what TASC looks for in new hires. It’s also about never being completely satisfied with your organization and always looking for ways to improve it. That is something all football fans can agree on.
Go Pack!
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