Individual Influence: Find the “I” in Team
Brian Smith and Mary Griffin
Made for Success (July 2022)

“I am large, I contain multitudes.” Walt Whitman

Why did Brian Smith and his daughter Mary Griffin write this book? It will be “a journey focused solely on [helping you to find yourself]. As you will see, each of us is (or should be) the most important person to ourselves; we cannot be the best for others without first being our best self.

“We will map this journey and explore the advantages of the individual. Our philosophy is that the word [begin italics] individual [end italics] has dual meanings: one person/many persons, one action/many actions, one word/many words. One is an individual; collectively, they are individuals.”

I agree with Whitman as well as with Margaret Mead: “Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” Smith and Griffin: “Individual Influence is about how you influence others and how others influence you; those results are subjective. It’s about understanding yourself and your (I)individual influences, not about measuring yourself against others or some generally accepting attribute.”

This is what Saint Paul has in mind when, in one of his first letters to the Corinthians, he shares his thoughts about “many parts, one body.” The key point is that each of us is a combination of many different persons who are influenced by many others, as are each of them. Think in terms of a network multi-dimensional interactions. Brian Smith and Nary Griffin include a set of Key Takeaways in each chapter that help to focus their reader’s attention on key points.

To those who read this brief commentary:  I highly recommend that you highlight the most important passages and keep a lined notebook near at hand in which to record their comments, questions, page references, and reactions to the aforementioned Takeaways. No doubt you will have your own Takeaways that are more relevant to you and to your own organization.

One final point: Be especially alert to identifying and then eliminating what Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham once identified as “unknown unknowns.” What you think you know but in fact don’t.  Long ago, Mark Twain suggested, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”