Herding Cats…

I can’t think of many business propositions or even personal endeavors that can be successfully accomplished alone. At some point in any project, you have to have a team. The era of multi-tasking has produced a generation of generalists and very few “experts”. That is unless you studied a specific profession like accounting, law, or the practice of medicine, to name a few.

Skilled labor and the “trades” have been abandoned for degrees in history, sociology and political science. Many of those graduates are tending bar, waiting tables, or still living with the parents, as manufacturing companies scramble for qualified workers…

As an entrepreneur myself, after walking away from Corporate America in the late 90’s, I can attest to the fact that “no man is an island”. Or should I say “person” as our illustrious leaders attempt to drive a wedge between the sexes, the races, and the economic achievers.

If there’s one skill that will serve you well in life, it’s the ability to motivate, inspire, and manage people. Ask any successful business owner, regardless of the industry; at the end of the day, it’s about people. From recruiting the players to promote a business, to targeting prospects, to securing clients, the real game requires that you learn how to “herd cats”…

That’s right, those fuzzy and fragile, agile little feline beings, so much like cats. Anyone who has managed people will relate, as getting everyone to cooperate, communicate, and often to participate, is similar to “herding cats”…

As if it’s not hard enough handling your own affairs, managing people can even make the shepherd feel like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.