Corporate Communication - Business - Horror of War; Reality of Business...

After two hours of heavy artillery, 13,000 Confederate troops lined up, awaiting the order to charge the Union lines. It?s difficult to realize the psychological horror they faced as they prepared to march across an open field into enemy fire, knowing full well that few would survive.

The order came, and Pickett?s Charge began. As the mile-wide wall of men steadily marched forward, the Union artillery and muskets fired. Waves of men fell to their death. Stepping over the bodies of their brethren, the troops continued onwards, unable to see their enemy through the great volume of smoke.

What deep psychological power gives a man the personal fortitude to march to an almost certain death? For those who were lined up in this snapshot in time, it was more personal than the love of country or belief in the cause.

They marched for one reason ? the man on their left and the man on their right depended on them.

This kind of loyalty and brotherhood is an amazing part of humanity that isn?t just present in the horrors of war. It inspires people in all areas of life and is especially powerful in business. Within your company, it can prepare your staff for any business plan set before them.

Most companies try to develop a complete group of officers within their company. They spend their time training all their people to become driven from the inside. What would really happen if your entire company was made up of self-driven, highly motivated individuals? Even if it was possible, it wouldn?t be pretty.

Not everyone has the attitude and definite purpose that is required of a self-starter. Those with these qualities are already an executive at your company, or they will be soon. For this reason, you CANNOT motivate your troops in the same way that you drive your officers.

Your troops will act on personal motivations only when they have a strong brotherhood amongst their colleagues. They must be somewhat separate from the larger corporation, having accountability to their team first, then to the company as a whole. The intimate connection with their team will inspire them be successful for their team and, in turn, the company.

Developing this type of teamwork in your company means that you must realize a humbling truth: your troops are fighting for THEIR reasons, NOT yours (regardless of how noble and just they are). It?s actually more important to respect their individual reasons than to know what they specifically are.

As a leader, your job is to provide your team with the support, resources, and guidance they need to be successful. Stop telling them why they need success and just help them achieve it. Your focus should be in picking their battles (never pushing them into a hopeless one) and making sure they are well-prepared for victory. Train your troops again and again, until the skills they need for success become second nature.

Encourage your troops to connect amongst themselves, rather than with you. Facilitate a forum where they announce to the team what they wanted to accomplish, and how they did it. Have them immediately follow with what they intend to accomplish in the future and their plans for accomplishing it. A system of self-established team accountability allows the troops to be responsible to their peers. The fear of letting down those who count on them is more powerful than any paycheck or sales goal incentive.

Business plans are executed when you are not present, so make sure your team is well-prepared for the task at hand. Let them come back and announce their success to the team! You cannot do it for them, but you can certainly inspire them to do it for each other.

Tom Richard conducts seminars on sales and customer service topics nationwide. Tom is also the author of Smart Salespeople Don't Advertise: 10 Ways to Outsmart Your Competition With Guerilla Marketing, and publishes a free weekly ezine on selling skills titled Sales Muscle. To subscribe to this free weekly ezine go to http://www.tomrichard.com/subscribe

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