Don’t expect a dead plant to grow.

This might be very controversial, but based on the lessons I’ve learned specifically in business, it has to be said. Think of yourself in a beautiful garden of sunflowers. The warm sun, a clear blue sky, and all of your happy sunflower friends singing next to you. And then there is that one sunflower in the corner who is grey and cold, stuck in its ways and unwilling to adapt and brings everyone’s spirits down. You can’t expect a dead plant to grow anymore. It’s a sad thing, it really is. But the same applies in business. Some people have run their course in the business and it’s time for them to try a new course. If someone comes into a business, more times then not you can teach them the skills necessary for the job. You can teach them filing procedures, paperwork guidelines, and how to use the cash register. They can grow in knowledge of material things and the way things are done.

You can’t always teach values. You can emphasize them and you can show them in action, but they don't always stick the way you want them to. I can recall countless times where change is inhibited because of the lack of talent that just can't match the values of the company or simply don't align. There are a lot of factors that come into play when forming a company's culture (we'll save that for another post), but one of the biggest ones is having the right team. When you try all of the other options and all that is left is the team, try to realize it just might be that piece of the puzzle. Don’t expect a dead plant to grow. They may blossom elsewhere in a garden with different soil.