This month we’re happy to have Atlanta leader, Gary Stokan as guest blogger for a two-part leadership series on Mouth Of The Destination South Blog.  With 35+ years of corporate sports management experience, Stokan has put his fingerprint on many major events that have brought Atlanta to the forefront as a globally progressive and thriving city.

In Part II of ‘It Takes Teamwork To Make The Dream Work’ Stokan shares with us his philosophies on how external values can lead a team forward. Enjoy the read and take-aways as this blog is full of ‘life lessons’ and business advice!

It’s true that TEAMWORK in a company makes the dreams (goals) of a company work. To build a productive team, every company needs philosophies that provide the platform for the “who, what, how and why” that the company exists. Our company has adopted an INTERNAL way to thrive based on a philosophy that we work together with each other. We also thrive on an EXTERNAL philosophy that impacts how we work with our partners. In this blog I’m sharing the specifics of our EXTERNAL philosophy and how it moves our team and partnerships forward.

An external company philosophy is vitally important to the success of your TEAM because it provides the baseline of consistency with everyone your company does business with. Our external philosophy is built around the word CARE. As I shared in Part I of this blog series, I’m an old coach and coaches love acronyms! We breakdown the word CARE beginning with C which stands for Customer. We always treat the customer with first-class service and they are always right. You have to respect, honor and cherish your customer because without them you have no business. We like to address our customers as “partners” because with long-term partnerships you can grow your business. We acknowledge that a team member’s success lies in the continuity of positive relationships with both their team members AND partners. And remember, it is always less expensive and easier to keep and grow your customers than it is to lose them and have to find new customers.

The A is for ATTITUDE – always have a positive ATTITUDE as it is something you can control. A positive attitude will be infectious to the rest of your team and your customers. Always view things as “glass FULL” instead of half full or even empty. If you begin a day with a bad attitude then I can guarantee you that bad things will happen. I personally have to profess the rewards of adopting a life philosophy where you exist every second of everyday with an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE. Be thankful for today…you are not promised another second, minute, hour or day on earth.Be thankful for your faith, your family, your friends, your health, your job, your teammates, your company. Wow we all have a lot to be grateful for!

Working our way through CARE, R stands for RELATIONSHIPS. Build strong, honest, long-lasting relationships with your teammates, partners and customers. Having strong relationships with your team members is crucial as continuity and consistency is a key ingredient to a successful TEAM or organization. I have always used this philosophy for doing business deals that are “win-win” rather than one sided for one party or the other. A win-win deal leaves the opportunity open for future business.

Last but not least, E represents EXCELLENCE. Our team strives for EXCELLENCE in all that they do. If you are going to do something- do it right the first time or don’t do it at all. EXCELLENCE is a tough measure to reach but if you are going to be the best then strive for EXCELLENCE.

Our external philosophy of CARE, Customer, Attitude, Relationship and Excellence has proved successful for us time and time again, and I know it can work for you. All the best in creating your own personal and work philosophies that will help you achieve success. I leave you with a personal philosophy that applies to both personal and business and one that I particularly love…ENJOY THE JOURNEY!