Builders intuitively know that if you are building a house then you need both bricks and mortar, and they need to be arranged in a certain way in order to construct a safe, functional and attractive residence.
The bricks provide strength, the mortar holds it all together, and the architect’s plan ensures that they are arranged in an appealing way.
This seems like a common sense approach to building.
However, when it comes to building organisations in the corporate world, this basic logic regularly gets thrown by the way side.
All too often, organisations idolize super stars. The solid bricks. Those individual over-achievers who it is believed will enable organisational success.
But how much effort is spent on giving people the philosophy, community, time and space that they need to work together in a productive and harmonious way?
And how much care is taken to ensure that the right people get placed in the right parts of the organisation for maximum effect?
People are important, and talented individuals will often be able to make a big contribution. But wonderful organisations (like buildings that are able to stand the test of time) will always be more than the sum of their parts.