Kevin Suboski talks team-building at the March meeting of the Jackson Inventors Network.G
The March, 2013, meeting of the Jackson Inventors Network (JIN) kicked off with a presentation by Norma LaValle, a business consultant with the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center (MISBTDC) describing some of the Michigan-based resources available for entrepreneurs and inventors. These resources include:
Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center (MISBTDC) — www.misbtdc.org/
U.S. Small Business Administration – www.sba.gov
SCORE — www.score.org
Ann-Arbor SPARK – www.annarborusa.org
Spring Arbor University — www.arbor.edu
Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center — http://www.mmtc.org
Norma LaVallee, of the MISBTDC, describes resources for inventors and entrepreneurs.
The evening’s main speaker, Kevin Suboski of Suboski and Co., spoke on the topic of “team building.” Recognizing that most inventors consider themselves “lone wolves,” he maintained they still need a team to achieve their goals.
“Team building is the art of constituting, constructing and governing a group of people to collaborate for the sake of a common goal,” he said. Suboski added each of these phases are important to success. For the “constituting” portion, for example, it’s vital to have team members who understand their roles and have values consistent with the overall organization. Suboski stressed common values as the key component to relationships, including business and personal ones.
He also added a team leader shouldn’t be afraid to “cull” dysfunctional members from the team; despite being short-handing, he predicts productivity may actually increase without problematic team members.
R. Dale Moretz (left), of Moretz Technologies, asks Suboski a question during the presentation.