Forming team as if your life depended on it.
Recently for example, I got in a group project and I made a mistake that I have made so many time prior but never write about it. However a mistake perceived is still a mistake. And that was not asking the right question. I was too easy going in accepting teammate due to their friendly opening, that I completely forgot to be critical about their goal. Them liking the idea is one thing, but being in the same chemical mindset as myself, is a completely different story, and one that is crucial to the success of this idea, if they ever really like it. For one I must accuse time and my unpreparedness for this occasion. I was careless, and so many time in the past as well. And thus through this writing I hope to make myself learn this mistake, and record this as if my life would eventually depend on it.
Secondly I am still young, so another mistake just add to the experience. And for the second, the scenario is somewhat different, so I was hoping to see maybe something could be improved.
Nevertheless, team chemical is crucial for any long-term project. Forming the right team right off the bat is often not. For the past 5 years I have experienced with many team so out-of-sync, and especially with myself. I was often the culprit, for I want to make thing happen faster. Thus, people often are afraid of me stealing their job, and the team chemical just broke. One reason I found, is that finding the hustler out there is extremely difficult. Hustling is a rare trait.
Hustlers are Rare
Try this experiment. Go to a total stranger, introduce yourself, ask them their name, specifiability, then come up with a relevant project idea, then ask them if they would like to work on a project with you during the next weekends. 99% of people I asked would already plan their vacation, dinner party or some leisure plan instead of working with me. Scouting a hustler is just as hard as looking for a good tree inside a forest. They are all wood, but only 1% make the best furniture.
On the other hand, based on Christ Voss’s negotiation mindset, my approach might or might have not failed. For getting the no is the beginning of a conversation, but sometime it’s hard to not being able to keep the negotiation mindset because of the energetic nature of a hustler. As for the might or might not, I did managed to make some good people looking to work with me in the future, however not the immediate future.
Nevertheless, finding the best fit partner is always better than finding the so-so one and mend it later, so this article shall devote to seek the right one. For fixing the team, how to influence them, and how to negotiate such that they willingly be a hustler with you, another blog will be dedicated for such.
And thus, a method to fish these rare creature need to be derived, as for one human is complicated but also are vulnerable on the first face to face. And secondly, as a hustler, my psychological wellness depends on whether I could find these people or not.
Asking the right question
Two benefit of asking question, the first is it engage the other audience (They are now active participant). Second, you get a chance of learning something from them (whether factual or not). The right question to ask is a limited set. I think there is a way to numerically prove this theorem but I will leave it to a better math nerd. Here are some question and corresponding responds that are positive and resonate with me.
Assuming that you humbly introduced yourself, and have a short conversation and asked about their occupation, now what we want to do is to determine if this person is a hustler or not.
How did you get into your field?
What do you want to get out of this education/occupation?