Synergy is an interesting concept. Synergy is when people can do more together than they can apart. Synergy is as much art as science. This is why production lines work better than individuals trying to build the same number of products on their own. Synergy is why teamwork is so important.
I first learned about synergy by accident. I became a manager long before I got my bachelors in management. I managed a molding department of a figurine manufacturing company. Since it was a small company, I also molded the figurines. I would hand pour around 60 molds and hand the molded parts to the cleanup table where we had five workers. I noticed several things.
First, my molds were empty more often than they were full because I had to empty all of them before I could start filling them again. Second, it was difficult to keep the five workers busy. I decided to pull one of the workers to the molding table. As I emptied the mold, my helper would fill it. This way, all of the molds stayed filled almost constantly. We produced four times the products than I could have done by myself. This was enough work in just a few hours to keep the cleanup table busy all day, so my helper could then go back to cleanup, while I tended the woodshop, packing, or made new molds.
Good leaders should always look for opportunities for synergy in all areas of life, whether at work, home, or Church. Synergy can strengthen a marriage as well as a business. Synergy strengthens. Look for it. Build with it.
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