Fast Company - Article Response #2

Their Specialty? Teamwork By: Gina Imperato

This article immediately caught my eye while I was looking for an article to respond to. The word teamwork is what grabbed my attention to the article. Not only does the restaurant, Radius in Boston, have a great chef, magnificent cuisine, and a distinctive ambience; it has the teamwork commitment added to the ingredients. Radius is committed to the teamwork in satisfying customers as well as the teamwork commitment extending into management and employees.

The article is written as a team, not individually speaking. For example, Radius has also developed a series of meetings in which both the spirit and the practice of teamwork get reinforced. Many times in articles, this would be written on behalf of the owner of the business. I really appreciate the team concept that Radius is upholding. According to the article, meetings are held throughout the day, and every employee knows what is on each plate served, how to set down the plate on the table to their guests, and how to pronounce the dish being served.

The team concept that Radius is using can be used in all walks of life, including the school classroom. I personally believe that if each person treated another person with respect and as a team player, success can only come out on top. For example, in a classroom, children need to know that they are respected and their suggestions and ideas are valued. It is my understanding that children and teachers work together in classrooms to accomplish the goal of learning in a safe and caring environment.

According to the article, the teamwork concept produces a more successful outcome than an individual outcome. For example, if a problem-solving activity were given to a group of four students, there would possibly be four different ways of problem solving. Students would learn from one another with respect and appreciation, with the ultimate goal being successful in solving the problem at hand. Just as each student had a part in problem solving, each employee and employer at the Radius team together to accomplish the successful outcome of pleasing their customers with elite status. From reading the article, I feel that every person that works with or at the Radius has an equal say in what happens on a daily basis to accomplish success. I think it is important that everyone feels what they have to say is important and it is respected and valued.

Working as a team isnt always as easy as it sounds. It is my opinion that social skills are just as important, if not more so, as academic skills. If individuals cant get along with one another in a teamwork environment, their academic skills really arent going to assist them throughout life. In classrooms across the world, teaching social skills and using a teamwork approach should definitely be part of each classroom curriculum.

Reading the article about the Radius gives me hope that their ingredients to success will wear off on other businesses, corporations, schools, and families. On a more personal level, I feel that my students working in groups within the classroom will bring many challenges to them individually with the end result being success.

-- Anonymous, February 13, 2000