Hitting a Nerve

Office staff cohesiveness remains important


 

Recently, a lawyer and I were on the phone about a case, and he mentioned how lucky he was to have had the same staff over the course of a 25-year career, and he was afraid they’d retire before he did.

I feel the same way. My medical assistant has been with me since day one 18 years ago, my secretary since 2004. I hope they keep putting up with me until I hang up my reflex hammer.

Nick Youngson/thebluediamondgallery.com/CC BY SA 3.0 nyphotographic.com/thebluediamondgallery.com/CC BY-SA 3.0
As a basketball fan in the 1980s, I knew by heart the two amazingly talented starting fives that dominated the era. For the Celtics, it was Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson, and Danny Ainge. For the Lakers, it was Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, A.C. Green, and Byron Scott. Both teams seemed unstoppable in different years because of a remarkable combination of both gifted players and personal chemistry.

It’s impossible to put a great team together just by talent alone. The chemistry and ability to work together are as critical as talent, if not more so, and are far more intangible and unpredictable.

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