____T.H.E. .P.A.S.S.

____No "I" In "Team"

Some people will never succeed, nor gain respect from others. These are the people who are self-interest motivated, lack focus and feed on others' success. Very often, they are the people who go through the motion, do the acceptable minimum, and lack initiative. In a team, these are the people who do not play their roles well and can never be counted upon for a spark of ingenuity. They aren't necessarily the good-for-nothings in the team but in the end, they create stress and frustration amongst teammates because they feed on the success of the team, which eventually, causes the team to lose focus and being unable to achieve a desired output or meet a required dateline.

A team wins because every member within itself works for the ultimate goal. Everyone shares an equal vision. Be it the completion of a project, securing a contract or winning the Champions League. Look at what happens to Manchester United when Cristiano Ronaldo is in one of his showy moods. Remember how Juventus crashed out of the Champions League when Zlatan Ibrahimovic decides that the pitch is a nicer place to sleep than the bed in his room?

Being self-interest motivated (or reward driven) is not necessarily a bad thing. However, when coupled with the lack of focus, the problems come rolling in. I use the Cristiano analogy again. Every footballer wants to win the league in which his club competes in and Cristiano isn't different. However, there are also defenders from Chelsea who want to win too. But just because these players are from Chelsea and that it gives temporary pleasure in doing a couple of stepovers to fool them, doesn't mean that it gives Cristiano a right to do so. Sometimes, a simple pass splits the defence would do the trick. That's where Cristiano switches focus and becomes self-interest motivated just because he is jealous of Chelsea's success (or for whatever reason).

Many times, these distractions or loss of focus do not happen just like that. They happen because of external factors - people with power to influence (your Dad, your friends, your girlfriend), situations that are beyond control (falling ill, falling down), et cetera. Remember a certain Mr Beckham who fell out with his mentor because of a certain Mrs Beckham who preferred her husband to live a celebrity lifestyle? Another example of human influence is very well-exemplified in the famous Shakespeare play "Macbeth". In the story, Lady Macbeth, spurred on by the ambition of limitless power and wealth, influences her husband to kill the king to usurp the throne. This is why, during examinations, it is good to get away from places with the most distractions, like places with gaming facilities.

Sadly, it is almost impossible to avoid having such a person in a team. Even the most successful teams tend to inevitably possess a bad apple. It was the saddest moment for music when Toshi decided to call it quits as lead vocalist from X-Japan. It is a well-known myth that Toshi's friend, Masaya, who creates "healing music" helped influence his departure from the band. Toshi too had gotten to tired of constantly being in the shadows of Yoshiki and hide, which caused the band to lose this very important quality of possessing an equal vision. In the end, X-Japan disbanded.

I may be wrong, but I forsee a very similar outcome with Shaun Wright-Philips the Chelsea reserve right-winger. Having enjoyed success of winning back to back EPL titles and monetary rewards there will bound to be jealous and disgruntled teammates, especially should he slacken off during training sessions. Poor him, unable to have regular games with Chelsea, is now also dropped from the England World Cup team - a first sign of not too good things to come. Whether or not he survives will depend on his mental toughness and whether or not he loses sight of his long term goal - to have a wonderful footballing career.

EID is coming to an end tomorrow. It has taught me lessons in many things. Not just engineering, not just practical aspects, but also the vital factors in making a powerful and strong team. In whatever responsibilities I uptake in future, I will look back at this date, and ensure that my selection of teammates are of "championship material", to form a formidable team such as that of Manchester United of 1999...
_______________________________________________

One point to note - It's a fine line between being tolerant and hypocritical.

---------------------------------