Synergy: It’s a word that most of us are familiar with and yet one that’s not so easy to define.
It’s more than two or more people getting along and benefiting one another. It’s when the combination of energies, resources, talents and efforts equals more than the sum of the parts—when 1+1=3 (or even more).
This story illustrates the concept. In northern Canada, an ox pull was being held to determine who had the strongest ox. The winner pulled 9,000 pounds and the runner-up pulled just a few pounds short of that. The owners and old-timers who had witnessed the competition started to debate as to how much the two strongest oxen could pull if they were teamed together.
The wagers went down. Some bet 16,000 pounds. Another 17,000 and still another felt that they should easily pull double their singular efforts—18,000. When the two oxen were hitched together, they actually pulled over 26,000 pounds!
That’s synergy. The whole being greater than the sum of the parts.
When two or more people, groups or companies come together and pool their talents and abilities toward a common purpose, the laws of math go out the window and the laws of synergy prevail. Far more can be accomplished than the individuals or groups could ever have achieved independently.
Many marriages are great examples of this concept. Some companies achieve this as well. The alignment, the joy, the ease of accomplishment is magical.
It takes work. It takes commitment. It takes an objective bigger than the participants. And it’s worth it.
Recommended Reading
Best Life Book Series
The path to your best life is through your Compelling Core Values, your Empowering Purpose, your Meaningful Mission, your Vital Vision and your Solid Goals. And this series has a book for each of them. Pick out individual ones or get the whole series.
