We all know their names: John, Paul, George, and Ringo. (If there are any children reading this who don’t know what I’m talking about, these are the names of the Beatles. The Beatles were a pretty famous musical group in the 60s. The 60s was the coolest decade ever, and you missed it. So there.) These four guys changed history, but they didn’t do it alone. Here are four other names:

Brian, Neil, George (a different one), and Mal.

These are just four of the crucial people on what I call the Beatles’ “satellite” team. And in your business, just as in the Beatles, your satellite team can make or break you. Let’s take a closer look.

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I’ve never run a pre-school daycare, but for fifteen years I was the boss of ten multi-Emmy Award winning comedy writers, which amounts to pretty much the same thing. As the Executive Producer of Seattle’s sketch comedy TV show, Almost Live!, it was my job to keep a highly creative team motivated and productive. I learned a lot of things along the way, but primarily I learned that a creative team needs two seemingly incompatible things in order to thrive: direction and freedom—with a little fire thrown in along the way. Let’s take these one at a time. But first, a disclaimer:

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If you’re trying to create a great team, you may want to keep in mind some of the traits that made the Beatles one of the greatest teams in recent history: Read More…

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A couple of miles from where I live is an intersection where a local panhandler has staked his claim. Day after day he’s there brandishing his sign, looking for donations. Most days I just drive by and wave; he always waves back. Occasionally I’ll give him a few bucks. Clearly the location is working for him, otherwise he would have moved on long ago. A few weeks ago, during a brief respite from the winter cold, I was driving along with my windows open, and as I came to a stop at the light at the intersection, I noticed my “local” was engaged in a conversation with another panhandler, whom I hadn’t seen before. I thought maybe they were having a turf battle, but then I overheard the new guy say these words to my local guy as he looked at my local’s sign:

“I really like your wording, but you should use a thicker marker.”

All of a sudden it hit me: This new guy’s not just another panhandler–he’s a consultant! Read More…

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