Better Together

By SJS Investment Services Founder & CEO Scott Savage.

Have you ever tried to do something really hard alone? How did you feel while doing it? Did you have to do it alone?

Many times throughout my life, I have tried to do hard things alone, such as starting my own business and training for my first Ironman Triathlon. While I feel very grateful for these experiences, I also learned that I much prefer being part of a team as opposed to going alone. While the daily work isn’t necessarily easier, working with a group of people I respect and trust makes all the difference!

I was reminded of the importance of teamwork when this past weekend, four members of the SJS team - Lisa Denstorff, Andrew Schaetzke, Michael Savage, Bobby Adusumilli - along with Brad LaClair teamed up to run the Glass City Marathon (for the fourth year in a row). As opposed to each person running the entire marathon alone, they participated in a relay, each running a portion of the 26.2 miles. They ran much faster together than if any one person ran the whole marathon alone.

SJS team members from left to right: Andrew Schaetzke, Michael Savage, Lisa Denstorff, Bobby Adusumilli, Jeff Yost.

One member of the SJS team - Jeff Yost - decided to run the full marathon alone, setting a personal record and we are hopeful will qualify for the famous Boston Marathon. He and fellow SJS team member Meredith Sleet joined the rest of the SJS runners in preparation before and celebration after completing the marathon. This is one of the main benefits of being on a team: doing something better by doing it together, while also having more fun. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” – Henry Ford

At SJS, we know a team is only as good as how well its members work together – for you, and for each other. We strive to do both of these things really well. When we say you come first, we achieve it by working together for you. So what are our secrets for achieving success as a team? Here’s our list:

• Know your role – All team members know the responsibilities and the expectations of their role.

• Support and trust – Team members care about each other and cooperate to get the job done.

• Passionate for the cause – The best teams have been there and done that, but still love what they do.

• Keep communicating – Teams with open channels of communication function better than those without.

• Give even more – The team that has members who put others before self can do more than those with team members who focus on themselves.

You may not realize this, but when you work with SJS, you are working with this kind of team. We tend to be quiet about it; don’t even talk about it, really. It’s just how we work to serve you.

No one person is smarter or better than the collective whole, and the good news is, when you have one of us working on your side, you have all of us, even if you regularly meet or speak with only one or two. We call it ‘bench strength’ – with an emphasis on strength. We don’t fly solo, and neither do you.

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