What's wrong with a good work-ethic?

I read an article about "Work Ethic" today. It was written by Dale Dauten from the Boston Globe in 2007. I want to share a brief illustration from that article:

'Imagine a sales team of 10, each selling 10 units a month. A star might come in as the 11th employee and sell 50 percent more than everyone else, raising the group to 115. A great teammate, however, might come in and sell 12 units, but also help everyone else sell 12, raising the department's output to 132. Thus, the great teammate seems to produce less but is actually more than twice as valuable."

I didn't have to read it again to see the power in the story. Teamwork and healthy Work Ethic go hand in hand. A person with a good work ethic doesn't just "show up" at his/her job. They go there with the intent of putting in an honest effort to earn their pay. So many in today's world pretty much stop with clocking in and going through the motions. It's the same with marketing. People pay their fee, fill in their profile on a replicated website and sit back and wait for the money to come rolling in. After all, didn't the person who recruited them say it was an "Auto-Pilot" program? It takes effort to lead people to that site, effort is work and dedication to that work and devotion to see the work accomplished IS a good work ethic.

A good work ethic alone isn't always enough, not in today's world. It will lead you a long ways but coupled with teamwork, it's nearly unstoppable. In the story above the guy who sold 12 did something amazing. He spurred his teammates on to outshine themselves. He motivated them to do more with the same skill set they had before he arrived. He might have helped them close some sales, or offered hints on how they might improve or even allowed them to see his techniques in order to learn.

This is how a proper team functions. It's what changes the course of the lives that are involved with the team. It brings success and fulfillment at a whole new level than most people have experienced before.

Isn't it time for you to join a team that succeeds? Isn't it about time to get the skills and training as well as a real opportunity to reach the goals you set for yourself?

I would be happy to share the teams I have joined but you can also look around and find others that are also strong, promote a sound work ethic and are actually working together to fulfill the old adage that the "Whole is greater than the sum total of all it's parts."