It’s always interesting to me to see how other people apply the word “team” to their lives. A lot of people I’ve met and worked with were never fortunate enough to truly realize the unstoppable force that a real team can be. I have the good fortune of being able to work with some of the best engineering teams in the world on complex problems that require complex thinking and complex solutions… No one person on the team can solve the problem, but when you put people together and they unite towards a common goal, then amazing things happen.
So, you’re asking yourself “Who cares, Justin? Get on with it…” I will get on with it, indeed…
Since I started in RC helis, I’ve learned that, much like other pursuits in my life, I have a unique passion and intensity for this hobby that is hard to find and even harder to match. I’m ok with that and I’ve grown up getting used to the fact that most people don’t understand why I’m so enthusiastic about my interests. So you can imagine how happy I was when I starting to find people in helis that were similarly enthused…
It starts with Nick. He and I go back waaaaaay before RCHN. Nick and I are kindred spirits…so much of how we think, speak, act, and work is identical. Our personal standards are way above what I’ve come to expect out of most others with whom I’ve interacted…our interests are very similar…our drive, motivation, and ownership are one in the same…and yet, there’s still enough different about the two of us to not butt heads…all the time, at least! 😉 Nick is truly one of my best friends and working with him on RCHN has been great and will continue to get better as we both have more time to nerd out together. Good things in store…just wait!
Right about four months ago I meet this guy, Dan through Nick, of course…he’s got this whole podcast thing going on and I’m intrigued by it immediately. Before I know it, I’m being asked to come on as a guest. Sweet! Another episode comes along…and another…and another…and as I write this, we’re mere hours away from the release of my tenth episode with RCHN. Could I have ever guessed that I’d be given this opportunity? No way… Why? Because it’s all part of Maestro Dan’s master plan and no one knows what Dan’s plan is except Dan.
Frankly, that’s what makes working with Dan so exciting and interesting. It’s all in his head… Sometimes you can get it out and other times you’ve just got to put faith in his vision and be a tool to enact it. Dan’s got an amazing voice, an amazing talent for audio production, and an amazing vision for how RCHN will evolve. In my short time working with him, I’ve learned that sometimes you just need to sit back and let things happen organically. Rushing won’t get you anywhere no matter how passionate you are about it…some things are better left to grow naturally. Dan and I work well together and I find more often than not that we think very much alike in an artistic sense. He’s becoming a good friend and I look forward to working with him to bring his vision to reality!
“…ok, ok. Enough with the sappy-ass stuff. What’s your point, Justin?!”
Fine. /sigh
I started this blog post talking about teams and how most people don’t get them, but those who do experience things that are unfathomably better than any one person’s expectations. Well, the reason you guys are even able to read this right now is because of the amazing team that we have here at RCHN. Dan, Nick and I have busted our asses for the last several weeks to put this website together and I can tell you that it could not have been done without the awesomeness that is this team. Don’t get me wrong…it’s been hard work, long and late hours, and tons of “debates,” but we got it done and it’s better than any of us ever thought it could be.
I remember a late-night meeting that we had to discuss the long list of tasks necessary to get this site finished and two of us got into an argument about how something should be. The other one of us made the comment in jest that the two people should just step into the ring and go at it…one person will come out alive and that’s how we’ll choose how to do things.
Sometimes that’s the way it needs to work, but not in this case…
The three of us ultimately showed that we can all step into the ring as individuals, but we will will emerge as one entity…united against whatever problem confronts us and capable of solving that problem with far more complex weaponry than any of the three individuals have in their own toolboxes.
That entity is called a team…and that team is what has labored to produce the website on which you now read this blog post. You all combine with us to make a larger, global team. We are the NATION…
…and we’re just getting started.
– Justin