The labor market is challenging. There isn’t a retail business on my neighborhood commercial street here in San Francisco that does not have a help wanted sign posted or a warning that services are slower because of lack of staffing. We used to complain about finding qualified staff; now we complain about getting warm bodies to show up for work. I was recruiting on the phone yesterday and I asked the candidate what was most important for her in a work environment. She immediately said the word “teamwork.” She basically said that work to her is a chance to be a part of a team and the culture of that team is critical to her job satisfaction.

I can’t help but use a sports analogy here because the word “team” of course makes me think about sports. I have two favorite sports teams, in this order: the United States women’s national soccer team and the Golden State Warriors NBA basketball team. The aspect I absolutely love about both teams is their teamwork. It also doesn’t hurt that they have both had phenomenal success—winning is fun to witness! Teamwork is when humans decide to work together to achieve something they could not achieve on their own. Soccer and basketball are team sports, but they aren’t always played that way. If you’re an NBA fan, just remember how the Houston Rockets played for years with James Harden. Five people on the court, four of them watching James Harden dribble and shoot or flop into fouls and live at the free throw line. You couldn’t pay me to go to a Houston Rockets game (unless they were playing the Warriors). I always thought about those other four Houston players on offense—what a miserable team experience.

Contrast that with the Golden State Warriors whose whole culture is teamwork in the form of passing the ball to get the best shot rather than a single person creating their own shot. My favorite player is Draymond Green because his focus on offense is to create the best shot possible for the best shooter. This is a skillset that results in championships—team championships. There aren’t many individuals in the NBA so boldly taking up that critical role on offense because it’s not a role that is captured in the stats or superstar/scoring accolades.