Monday, September 18, 2006

No Choice

Teamwork.  Here we go again…….more Rah Rah – right????

WRONG!

Have you ever heard the expression “they eat their own?” It is one of those sayings that has been borrowed from the world of Nature.  It usually describes some member of the animal or insect family who either eat their children or eat each other.  When used for Human analogy, it is not a compliment.  And, when used to describe a company….stay away!

I like to believe that our Wunderman culture is antithetical to that kind of thinking – in fact I know it us. I can cite examples from all over the world that prove the point – folks who share; travel; spend nights and weekends working – not for themselves but for their colleagues in other countries; on other accounts and sometimes even in other companies.

Yet, occasionally we slip up.  It happens.  Maybe temptation gets the better of us.  Maybe it’s laziness.  Who knows????  But it happens….and then we are no better than the rest.

The good news is that a strong culture is self-righting.  A strong culture has strong anti-bodies and rejects “infection” on its own.  However, occasionally even the healthiest need to take a pill or two……

One of the great basketball coaches of the US said it well:

“Commitment to the team - there is no such thing as in-between, you are either in our out.  Pat Riley

Being a Wunderperson presents the same choice.  We are either in or out.  Being in makes us all part of a team that is multi-cultural; multi-geographic; multi-thinking; multi-resourced and mucho powerful – not bad…

It is up to all of us to make sure that the Wunderman anti-body defense is strong…and getting stronger.  And, we need to embrace and celebrate what it means to be in.

Last week, I was in Houston at our KBM office.  It suddenly struck me.  We were discussing the same issues, reviewing the same opportunities and applying the same philosophy that I had seen and heard and felt in Wunderman Toronto the week before, and that I have seen and felt and heard in every office in every country on every continent I have been privileged to visit.

It makes no difference who you are, where you are or which Wunderman entity you represent – if you’re in – you are in!!!!  And Lester is proud……..

Posted by David on 09/18 at 11:35 AM
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