Go team......Yaaaaay..... Go team...the A-Team.

In 1972 a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team...........brrrrrrrm da da da da da da da da da da dih da, da da da da da !

I never set out to write about the A-Team, but it suddenly seems like a good idea, you see an article popped up in my inbox which talked about the preference of hiring the team player over the A player and it reminded me about a time a few years ago now when I was asked to roll out Top Grading recruitment training. Now I totally get the concept behind Top Grading, it's about hiring the best, you know like a crack commando, who has the ability to get out out of complex situations (metaphoric maximum security stockade) with the hope they are so good they don't get into them in the first place. The kind of top performing highly rated individual wanted by every organisation and if you find them maybe you can hire the A Player.....brrrrrm da da .....you know the rest.............however, you don't hire teams, you hire individuals and in most cases then expect them to perform in a team. 

Samson, Van Zanten, Goodwin, McAusland, Dummett, Teale, McGowan, Newton, McGinn, Goncalves, Thompson, Carey, Mair, Parkin, McLean & Adam. Those surnames won't mean too much to you (a lot to me) depending on where you live, but eight days ago they upset the odds to lift their clubs first trophy in 26 years through good old fashioned team work. When things weren't going their way they worked together, it wasn't one individual who secured victory it was a combination of individual skills and experiences that achieved success. Why it was almost like the team had been assembled that way. A real life A Team.

So back to the hiring of A players, the first problem I had with it was that when challenged about targeting the A's the response would always be "don't worry, we still need the B player" How motivating is that, hey.....you over there, yeah the B player ? Hmmmm go team you say. The mindset was always about hiring A players rather than creating the A team and that got me to thinking, the A player ain't all that....so how about the A-Team then...

The article I spoke of earlier talked about a couple of critical values and skills including Selflessness and camaraderie but I think the A-Team has others up their sleeve.

Hannibal - The Leader, his plans were always a bit elaborate but he had real foresight to see how it would all come together. Chief Skill - Visionary 

Face - As good as second in command, a keen eye for the ladies and big on the schmooz, his key role was in procurement of all things required on the mission - Chief Skill - Communication

Howling Mad - Pilot and all round nutter ( I like him), Mad Murdoch may live in a Veterans mental institution but it is hardly a lock up given how frequently he comes and goes depending on the mission. Chief Skill - Navigation

B.A - Adorned with enough gold to cash in for a european away trip B.A was the teams muscle and mechanic. There was nothing he couldn't build with the guts of a scrap car, a few pipes and some blu-tak. Chief Skill - Innovation

So there you have it, how hiring an A player is fine if they all bring enough skills to be the A-Team. Hire the skills and not the ego's, pull them together and implement your plans......also a blatant opportunity to mention St.Mirren but there is one final lesson I have to tell you about the A-Team. 

Always grow and further develop the teams skills on a regular basis and make sure you see that the success of a team lies with the skills and experience of the individuals and if you ever need to build another team do so with the same formula of hiring the individuals and never just try to recreate..........

.................that could spell disaster !

That Learning Dude @LearningXDude

Oh the learning you'll do if you let yourself to....

It's hard to believe that I got a little bit grumpy the other day when someone told me they didn't have time or the inclination to learn new stuff. They said they only want the learning they need when they want it, and how they want it...... and yet hasn't that been the point of everything I have been talking about lately? Well I just had to write about it but couldn't find the words......then something colourful and exciting happend.

If you let me you'll see you can learn so easy and I'll take you to places so fine

Where the knowledge does fly and the clock ticks on by cause to learn you just have to make time

I'll stop myself now before saying who, how and just cut myself straight to the point. 

Why when learning it's you with an excuse or two not to stop by the brain learning joint

I could keep up this rhyme and it isn't a crime if I want you to learn stuff this way

but it's not me you see that is blocking it's thee and you need to go open your mind

Okay, enough of this, for now......I love Dr Suess, always have, I do what I do because Suess told me to.....sorry, force of habit but the thing is, the likes of Green Eggs and Ham, Mr Brown can hoo can you and of course Cat in the Hat all have one thing in common, they make you think, make you imagine and make you want more. 

Think back to that childhood book, it doesn't have to be Suess, it doesn't even have to be a book but what was it that you loved as a child, couldn't get enough of and just had to find out everything you possibly could about it. Then ask why did I forget?

You learned how to unlearn, it stopped being your friend and you think that without it it's fine but what you fail to see is that learning is free and..........I really can't help myself.......ANYHOO ! You have to re-engage with stuff, things and more stuff.

The purpose of the learning community now is to make content available for you in multiple formats in a way that opens you up to untapped potential once again but they can't make you learn, that is up to you.

So from where did this come? Why this subject from me? and now where do I want it to go?

Where I want it to go is with you just like so and I'm sure that you'll take it on board, because what I have done is the grand sum of none as the learning was always inside. Go go go and begone and make learning more fun just like how you did back in the day and for sure and for how just remember that now you can have it and have it your way.

Thanks Dr Seuss.

 That Learning Dude @LearningXDude