Choosing a team

“This was my first trip with the group and I was a bit hesitant at first as most of my experiences traveling with large groups have not been so pleasant. This was a great group of people. All looking to have a good time, nobody getting hung up on the changes in plans, the rain, the wind, or even the snow on the trip back.”

This is a comment posted by a participant on a message board concerning a kayak trip I led recently to the southeast. It resonated with me because I think most of us came away with the same buoyant feeling for the same reason.

It’s not so much what he noted as what he didn’t. He didn’t say we got to paddle with dolphins, gators and a host of other intriguing wildlife. He omitted the wondrous sunrises and sunsets over the ocean and surrounding islands. He didn’t even express the excitement of plying the waves on the open sea.

What stuck with him, and the rest of us, was the uplifting feeling of being surrounded by positive and upbeat people for a week. I thought it was just me but almost everyone on the trip sent me similar thoughts. No one wallowed in adverse weather, last-minute changes in plans or any other issues.

I did receive a complaint, but unrelated to this trip. Another contingent of our club was on a whitewater trip elsewhere. I had already heard about the incident, as head of the club, and halfway expected the contact. He’s the type who takes no lesson from consistently being in the negative minority.

Not everything on that trip went as planned, but that’s the nature of these things. Nonetheless, the group sat around a campfire and joyfully rehashed what they were enjoying about it. Until this one person stood up and held forth about all the gripes he had with it.

A silence fell over the group. Then the trip leader looked him in the eye and said, “Maybe you came for the wrong reasons. We’re here to enjoy each other’s company.”

Driving back from my trip, I was thinking how, if I was to start a company or other enterprise, I’d look at this club for staffing. Things hardly ever go as planned. Whether it turns out right at the end of the day is a function of the people with you.

There are those who are mired in the negative and complaining about things and those who make things come out right. Choose your team wisely and you’ll do just fine.