Build Your Team

Aquascape’s Leadership team, standing on Aqualand’s collapsed roof.

On February 11, 2011 my building, Aqualand, collapsed under 24 inches of melting snow. Thank God it happened on a Sunday and nobody was at work. However, it also effectively put us out of work as our building with its phone lines, computers and millions of dollars of inventory was inaccessible. Talk about a shot to the gut! I was effectively down and out and literally on my knees. But that’s when it happened. One of the greatest life lessons occurred at one of the most trying times of my life. (Funny how that happens huh?) My team stepped up, surrounded me and came together in a way that demonstrated a lesson that’s now engrained in my mind and on my heart. It’s all about the people! Without people, more specifically the right people on your team, you have nothing!

We just got done hosting our largest event of the year at Aquascape, our annual training and networking event dubbed Pondemonium. We put it on in our rebuilt building which the architects have assured me is strong enough to land a commercial plane on! I hope a plane doesn’t land on our roof or anything else catastrophic happen to our business but if it does here’s what I now know. I have the team in place that can handle whatever Mother Nature or life throws at us. And with that I have everything a man could ever hope or ask for. Do you understand that? Whether it’s at work or at home I have teammates, family and friends that not only have my back but collectively are far stronger than any one person could ever be.

Do you have a support team around you to prop you up when you need it? If not, then why? If you feel you can handle life on your own trust me when I tell you it sometimes snows…a lot! If you try to be a Super Leader, that is someone who feels they can always do it best, you’re going to need a big shovel to handle not just the snow but all the bullshit you’re going to need to shovel through. You also won’t have 3:00 A.M. friends; those are the guys you can call on when you need them most. Why would you have them, when you’ve always been so good at handling it all yourself?!

Pondemonium this year was about the people, specifically the people that make up your team. The Aquascape Community of Contractors, Retailers and Distributors is part of my team and the team of all those who choose to be a part of it as well. But you gotta choose. Finding something to be part of and surround yourself with the right kind of people that can help you succeed. Because in the end none of us can do this thing called life all alone. Do you understand that?! Those that try to will inevitably get lost at some point along the way. I found that out when I needed it most. And now I’m surrounded with a team that holds me up. Start building your team today…because you might just need them tomorrow.