If you are like me you were glued to your TV screen on a Sunday a few weeks ago watching the end of this year’s Ryder Cup. It had been a fascinating 3 days and the fact that the American team were strong favourites made the Europeans victory one of the best I have ever seen. The US team was viewed as the best since 1981 but in the end were beaten pretty comprehensively. A thought struck me then “Are the odds always against the US winning?” I am too young to remember the regular defeats the GB & I team used to receive and only generally have seen European wins.
Looking at the European team there was a real sense of community and togetherness while the US became more and more fragmented. This continued on into the post-match interviews where it came to light just how bad things were. The great European teams are able to take all the different nationalities and personalities and make them greater than the sum of their parts, while the US seems to do the opposite. As the Europeans are able to get the best out of their team and the US the opposite the odds are always in Europe’s favour.
I believe that like the best Ryder Cup teams the more diversity in a team or community the better. Everybody has different skills and viewpoints; you can come up with a better product or solution or a more vibrant community by using different inputs. However having diversity is not enough on its own, it needs to be managed and all the different viewpoints brought together to achieve the ultimate goal, this is where Europe’s Ryder Cup captains excel. The great ones create a sense of harmony and togetherness with a focus on winning the Ryder Cup.
As I have said before the most successful co-working spaces have the most vibrant communities. Meeting new people and learning new ideas is the best way for businesses and people to grow. Even in just the couple of months Culture has been open I have met so many new people and learned so much.
As Culture continues to grow I am looking forward to meeting more new people and growing our community here. Who knows we may even set up a golf society!
Andrew