What A Five Hundred Pound Barrel of Bricks Teaches Us About Teamwork

This is the fourth in a series of Management Moments by Doug Dickerson, a weekly column designed to bring inspiration to those in the workplace and beyond.

Courtesy: profilebuildingservcies.co.uk

(CHARLESTON, SC) - The following story reminds me a lot of the old Laurel and Hardy episode “The Music Box” in which they attempt to deliver a piano that sits atop an enormous flight of stairs.

The piano rolls down the stairs numerous times until finally they succeed in getting the piano in the house with disastrous consequences.

In developing a successful work atmosphere where each person is valued and contributes, teamwork is vital to success. Whenever a leader thinks he can go it alone he will soon learn the hard way that it’s best to move forward as a team.

It reminds me of the story I heard one time of the brick layer who tried to move five hundred pounds of bricks from the top of a four story building to the sidewalk below. His problem was that he tried to do it alone.

On an insurance claim form, he explained what happened: “It would have taken too long to carry the bricks down by hand, so I decided to put them in a barrel and lower them by a pulley which I had fastened to the top of the building. I fastened the rope around the barrel, loaded it with the bricks, and swung it out over the sidewalk for the descent.

“Then I went down to the sidewalk and untied the rope, holding it securely to guide the barrel down slowly. But, since I weigh only one hundred and forty pounds, the five-hundred pound load jerked me from the ground so fast that I didn’t have time to think of letting go of the rope.

"And as I passed between the second and third floors, I met the barrel coming down. This accounts for the bruises and lacerations on my upper body.

"I held tightly to the rope until I reached the top, where my hand became jammed in the pulley. This accounts for my broken thumb. At the same time, however, the barrel hit the sidewalk with a bang and the bottom fell out. With the weight of the bricks gone, the barrel weighed only about forty pounds. Thus, my one hundred-forty pound body began a swift descent, and I met the empty barrel coming up. This accounts for my broken ankle.

“Slowed only slightly, I continued the descent and landed on the pile of bricks. This accounts for my sprained back and broken collar bone.

“At this point, I lost my presence of mind completely and let go of the rope. And the empty barrel came crashing down on me. This accounts for my head injuries.

“As for the last question on the form, ‘What would you do if the same situation arose again?’ please be advised that I am finished trying to do the same job alone.”

It’s amazing what can happen in an organization when the right people, with the same vision, with the same work ethic come together for the same results.

As Harry Truman once said, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.”

Allow me to share what I call the 3 C’s of teamwork, (1) Communication – The team that works best together is the one that communicates well. The brain trusts within your organization need to be creative, but also communicate.

William Butler Yeats summed it up nicely when he said, “Think like wise men but communicate in the language of the people.” A leader should never allow poor communication to hold back the progress of the team.

(2) Cooperation – if the team does not get along, success will be slow and hard to come by. Fostering and maintaining a cooperative atmosphere is vital. The leader must keep his pulse on the atmosphere in the workplace to accurately gauge progress. William Arthur Wood wisely noted, “Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination; on cooperation, not intimidation.”

(3) Community- when team members sense camaraderie instead of contention, teamwork will be a pleasure instead of a burden. When team members come together in community, energy is high, ideas are freely exchanged, a greater sense of ownership and purpose is evident.

Anthropologist Margaret Mead once observed, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Success comes when you build a team of caring, committed individuals; not in a five hundred pound barrel of bricks.

Doug Dickerson is the former editor of the Berkeley Independent newspaper in South Carolina and is currently the director of university relations at Charleston Southern University. Doug’s writing has been recognized by the South Carolina Press Association, having won awards for enterprise reporting, series of articles, and for humor column writing. Doug’s passion for communicating leadership principles and personal development is crystallized through his Management Moment column and leadership columns he writes. Read more of Doug’s columns on his blog at dougsmanagementmoment.blogspot.com