Boost Your Success With An R&D Team

One of the best ways to ensure that your planning is successful is to create your own R&D (research and development) group. All truly successful businesses have departments or teams specifically dedicated to finding and developing new and better ways to do whatever it is the company does, so why not you?

At it's most basic, and R&D group can be a small group of friends that you bribe into helping you with problems by offerings of pizza and beer. At it's most complex, it can be a worldwide network of e-quaintences who have signed on to receive email newsletters from you outlining the projects you are working on, and who in return offer feedback or creative help from hundreds of different perspectives.

Wherever your group falls along this continuum, to be effective they must have a clear idea of where you're going and what help you need. Be clear and clean in your discussions, and accept all feedback openly and without defensive posturing. Of course, if someone is taking advantage of your goodwill by scarfing up your pizza, but offering only bland or even hurtful critiques in return with no real effort at being helpful or creating solutions, don't invite them back - just be sure it's them, and not you, who are the problem!

Don't forget to keep your R&D team up to date on the progress of the projects they helped on. After all, it's their baby too, and no one likes to help out and then be left behind - if you pull a "thanks for all your help, b'bye now" routine on them, they will get frustrated and won't want to play any more, leaving you to do all that work by yourself. Reciprocate in kind by joining in their R&D teams if they ask (or offer first, to be really nice).

Creating and using R&D teams can save you much wasted time, pointless effort and avoidable pain. No one of us knows as much as all of us put together, and the group dynamic is a good example of a behavior known as "emergent phenomenon" - it often generates results that are greater than the sum of its parts. By sending your ideas and problems through your R&D team, rather than attempting to handle it all yourself, you'll end up with a far greater number and higher quality of ideas to work with (even if you do end going with your original plan) than you could ever hope to come up with on your own.

(Fun note: Even mad scientists and evil overlords, the two most basic "one-man operations" there are, take advantage of this stress-relieving concept. Remember - you, too, have minions. Use them!)

(c) Soni Pitts

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Soni Pitts is the Chief Visionary Butt-Kicker of SoniPitts.Com. She specializes in helping others reclaim "soul proprietorship" in their lives and to begin living the life their Creator always intended for them.

She is the author of the free e-book "50 Ways To Reach Your Goals" and over 100 self-help and inspirational articles, as well as other products and resources designed to facilitate this process of personal growth and spiritual development.

---

Go On, Be A Tiger

From the moment he putted with Bob Hope on the... Read More

Top Ten Creative Excursions for Building Effective Teams

The ability to build effective teams is a must for... Read More

4 Tips for Keeping a Team Motivated

Companies often have incentives for reps, but sometimes that isn't... Read More

Trust: A Critical Factor to Your Teams Success

True or false? Teams that practice good teamwork contribute to... Read More

Team Work

So much has been written on this subject; Team Work,... Read More

How To Help A Sick Team Become Healthy

Team Building Question:A team is full of animosity, pretended interpersonal... Read More

Building a Successful Team

Once you've set a goal for yourself as a leader... Read More

People Are The Heart Of Your Organization

Do you let your people express their thoughts about the... Read More

Resolving Workplace Conflict: 4 Ways to a Win-Win Solution

The effects of conflict in the workplace are widespread and... Read More

Employee and Coworkers Gifts

Giving gifts to your co-workers or your employees can be... Read More

Communication between franchisees in a franchise system

If you own a franchise you would be wise to... Read More

Empower Your Trainees

One of the most memorable quotes that I heard from... Read More

Solitude Vs Teamwork!

Irrespective of any given situation, "Team Work Works!" It is... Read More

How To Encourage Ideas From Your Team At Meetings

You're at a meeting with key staff. You want some... Read More

Business Team Building Strategy In The Jungle

"Tak kenak! Tak kenak!" "Adak Orang sanak!????"The quiet jungle has... Read More

Whats Your REAL problem??

When was the last time you spent excessive time and... Read More

Virtual Team Work

At a time when many companies are scaling down their... Read More

Building High Performing Teams: Putting the I Back in Teamwork

Ever watched a really brilliant idea meet with resistance and... Read More

Station Teams: Assembly Required

Too often teams aren't assembled. They just happen. A project... Read More

Team Journaling

The very effective tool of keeping a journal can be... Read More

How to Boost Morale In Your Organisation

Who keeps the wheels turning in your organisation? Who holds... Read More

Motivation - Dont Make Your Team Uncomfortable

The people in your team may feel a bit uncomfortable... Read More

Effective Team Building For Organizational Success

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common... Read More

In 2005 Collaboration is Key

Perhaps you're a small business owner wondering how you and... Read More

Dealing with People that Drive You Crazy!

We all know someone who just drives us batty. Perhaps... Read More

Your Administration Team - Look After Them

In most organisations the administration/support team, although they can be... Read More

Why It Pays to Out More Humor in the Workplace

1. Humor reduces stress levels and stress is the number... Read More

Listening Between the Lines

Have you seen the tee-shirt with the slogan, "Talk to... Read More

Mastermind Team: Do You Have One?

The key to life is to be around the people... Read More

Presenteeism - present in body absent in productivity

Presenteeism is alive and 'not well' in many businesses today.... Read More

Motivating Teams

Introduction:Working with teams, whether as leader of a single team... Read More

Story Telling With a Purpose

For a brief time, I tried to sell life insurance.... Read More

What Every Manager, Parent, and Teacher Should Know About How to Unify Employees, Families, & Youth

Project Head Start has been successful not only for the... Read More