Imagine a team of people who made everything you did a little better, a little easier, a little more impactful, over and over, all the time.
We’ve seen it over and over, and it’s quite hard to imagine, actually, just how much these little improvements, over time, add up to a completely different reality. It’s one that makes remembering the past an exercise in forehead slapping. “Can you believe what we used to have to do?”
That’s why, from where you may be sitting now, the idea of investing in a person, or building a whole team of these people, seems impossible to justify. I mean, these people aren’t cheap. The improvements they will suggest won’t be free either. And to what end? We don’t know exactly.
I imagine a make believe history of an old-timey racecar driver. The hero starts racing a car she has fixed up by herself. She wins some races, generates some excitement, and starts getting invited to bigger and bigger races.
And then she meets a mechanic who has an idea that will make the car go faster and handle those corners better. And working together, they start winning a whole lot more.
Fast forward to 5 years later, and there's a crew keeping an eye on every aspect of the car’s performance and every detail that impacts the driver. This team is looking for any and every opportunity to fine tune this driver’s car and driving experience. And this constant improvement is exactly what keeps her one step ahead of the competition.
And now imagine another driver, just as talented, who thought he could do it all himself. Or he hired a publicist instead. Or he hired a publicist, a fashion designer, AND a team of dancing bears, whatever. But he didn’t build the team to make his car perform better and better all the time. I don’t need to tell you where that driver ended up, you already know.
So how much should you invest in this team? It’s up to you. How far do you want to go?