Chapter 21 Don't try to boil the whole ocean

Remember: you can't boil the entire ocean!Individual knowledge and ability are limited. It is a wise choice to rely on and utilize the knowledge, experience and ability of team members to complete the project together. Don't worry about credit being taken away by others. At McKinsey, you never walk alone—or, at least, you don't work alone.Everything in the company is done as a team, from front-line client project work all the way to corporate decision-making.The smallest team I ever worked on was me and my project manager on a pro bono project for a theater company in New York.At the other extreme of team size, the firm's largest clients may have several McKinsey teams of five or six people working together on site at the same time.Together, these teams form a "superteam".In the early 1990s, members of the AT&T superteam decided to get together to discuss their work, and there wasn't a room big enough for them at corporate headquarters, so they had to book a hotel in New Jersey.

McKinsey relies on teams because that's the best way to solve the problems the firm's clients face.The questions McKinsey faced were either extremely complex, such as "how to preserve shareholder rights in the face of competitive pressures and union demands when major markets shrink," or very broad, such as "how can we make money in this industry."The complexity of these problems makes it impossible for a single person to solve them—at least by McKinsey's highest standards.Needing more people means more hands to collect and analyze data, and more importantly, more brains to figure out what the data really means.If you have complex problems in your business, maybe you should also organize a team to help you solve them.In the face of complexity, more hands don't just make the job easier, they also produce better results.

This kind of cooperation once played an important role in the process of developing the United States into the largest and most economically powerful country in the world.We have a duty to work together for a common purpose, and if we wish to maintain this advantage, we should meet this duty with unselfish teamwork, no matter what misfortune we encounter. We cannot truly benefit from the principles of cooperation until we develop a team spirit and identify with a sense of solidarity and partnership.Greed and selfishness have no room for survival in the spirit of teamwork. Sometimes people form partnerships because they have to work together, but the partnerships are neither reliable nor long-lasting.Usually ends with the conclusion of a specific project.

True teamwork must be based on others "willing to cooperate with you, and I will also cooperate with them".You should actively demonstrate your motivation to collaborate and be alert to any changes in the partnership.Teamwork is a never-ending process. Although the success or failure of cooperation depends on the attitudes of various members, it is indeed your duty to maintain the cooperative relationship. Teamwork doesn't take a lot of time and effort, but it can yield great results.Knowing this, we can't help but wonder why so many people make their own and others' lives so miserable because they don't understand the importance of teamwork.

It is impossible to create civilization without the cooperation of others, and even a great artist like Michelangelo needed assistants, craftsmen, and customers to complete his work. Humans have a state of mind that makes people similar to each other, creates harmony between different minds, and provides attraction for harmonious teamwork with others.This state of mind usually has to be achieved by means of focus and purpose (backed by the right motivation and self-discipline). This state of mind is enthusiasm—a quality that is contagious.If you can infuse your enthusiasm into others, teamwork results are bound to emerge.