The Richly or Poorly Show
Show Transcript
shdawson-20260407.mp3
Episode 04/07/2026
04/07/2026
Hello! Welcome to The Richly or Poorly Show!
My name is Dr. Stephen Dawson, and I am your show host.
Thank you for joining me.
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The show's motto is unmistakable: RICHLY IS GOODLY!
Please consider how you define the term good as we journey through life together in your pursuit of defining the term richly in your life.
The plan for my presentations to you was to first establish a foundation of shared understanding between you, the listener, and me. Then, proceed to build on that foundation with subsequent episodes. I recommend that you review the nine episodes between December 2nd, 2025, through January 27th, 2026, as you see fit to help you remember the foundation of our shared understanding as we proceed through each episode you hear in the coming weeks, months, and years.
Last week, I presented on the topic of morality as a commodity. I addressed recent events that were connected to the February 3rd, 2026, episode. Finally, I shared an example of a company in Japan that is about to launch a new product, highlighting morality as a commodity.
Today and over the course of several upcoming episodes, I will present on the subject of teams. I will start with addressing the steps to form a team today. The intended outcome is for you, as a listener in my intended audience, to have the ability to multiply your efforts to live your life more richly and less poorly through your team. Please note, the plan is to have more than one team at a time in your life, with each team focused on advancing a part of your life so you can live your life more richly.
The reason it is beneficial for you to form a team is that we are each limited in the amount of resources we possess as individuals. Resources, in the form of things such as our time, energy, and intellect. Connecting to people who hold a similar worldview as you, who have behaviors similar to the ethics as you, who strive to live the same morals as you, empowers you to multiply your efforts to live your life more richly by enabling those with whom you connect by way of a team to benefit from the same outcomes.
The term team is a singular term. It is a noun. A noun states an attribute of a person, place, thing, or idea. A team is a number of persons associated in some joint action.
The only aspect of the term team is the number of people in the team. There is no consideration of team composition in the definition of the term team, which is of paramount importance for any team to accomplish any form of productive work output.
The term teaming is a singular term. It is a verb. A verb is the expression of action, a state, or a relationship between two things. Teaming is the action of forming a team.
The term synergy is a plural term. It is a verb. Synergy is the interaction of elements that, when combined, produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual contributions. The most concise example of synergy is teamwork accomplished in harmony, with harmony being an example of healthy unity.
Synergy is not an example of addition. Synergy is an example of multiplication. The combination of all parts of a team brings about a result that is greater in some form of measurement than only adding the individual parts together. An example is gunpowder. A small amount of ignited gunpowder brings about much force in the form of air pressure, and that force occurs quickly.
The importance of teaming cannot be overemphasized. All teaming consumes an immense amount of resources, both tangible and intangible. All members of a team are practicing a willful partnership at all times while they are members of a team.
A team is not a group. A group, compared to a team, is an unstructured number of people who have no intention to work together.
There is no immediate gratification in any aspect of any team. The process of both forming and acting as any team takes considerable time and effort.
United States Army General Stanley A. McChrystal retired in disgrace from active duty in 2010 after an interview he did with Rolling Stone magazine due to how McChrystal and his staff mocked civilian and government officials. The article came across as disrespectful to President Obama, so Obama asked McChrystal to resign by way of retirement. McChrystal released his second book, Team of Teams, in 2015. The concept is to have multiple well-functioning teams do their thing, and then supply inputs and outputs to other teams as appropriate.
I liked the concept of a team of teams when I first heard of it. My study has since concluded that a Team of Teams only works in a single environment, such as a branch of the military. The reason the Team of Teams concept fails outside of the military is that the definitions held as a shared understanding within a team cannot be accepted by any other team as the number of definitions increases. Ultimately, there is less and less ability to have inputs and outputs across teams. The result is the need to start each relationship between each team again as time goes on, as team members come and go.
The Uniform Code of Military Justice is the foundation of the system of military justice of the armed forces of the United States. The UCMJ defines many cause-and-effect relationships that help shape the organizational cultures of the branches of the military. The Code of Laws of the United States of America is the official codification of the general and permanent federal statutes of the United States. It is the civilian equivalent of the UCMJ. The number of differences between the UCMJ and the Code of Laws of the United States of America is too great to have the Team of Teams concept succeed outside of the military. The Team of Teams concept can succeed within a single civilian organization, but the absence of a common organizational culture will defeat the Team of Teams concept from succeeding. The likelihood of the Team of Teams concept succeeding within any single civilian organization is less than that of a branch of the military. Less, in terms of much less.
I presented on December 9th, 2025, the first principle I have found as paramount, undeniable, and non-negotiable to living life more richly:
Understand Your Data Lifecycle
I presented on January 20th, 2026, the first aspect of The Truth:
Arrogance Precedes Anger
AND
Anger Precedes Violence
It is necessary to both Understand Your Data Lifecycle and to remember Arrogance Precedes Anger AND Anger Precedes Violence with each second you are doing anything with any aspect of a team, even as you begin to form your team.
The first step to forming your team is to Determine Duration. Consider the end result you have for your team's purpose. This result means your team no longer needs to exist. It is the amount of time from the second you begin to form your team to the second after your team has accomplished its purpose that comprises the duration of your team's existence.
So, let's consider what we have covered as we begin to apply it. We covered the definitions of the terms team, teaming, and synergy. We now know there is no immediate gratification in team formation, as the process to form any team requires considerable amounts of time and effort. We looked at the work of McChrystal and his book, Team of Teams, and found it is not applicable outside of a single organizational culture, such as the military or a single civilian organization. We know we must Understand Your Data Lifecycle to do anything with teams, and we know that Arrogance Precedes Anger AND Anger Precedes Violence also exists in anything involving a team.
Now, let's consider some examples of teams.
We need work accomplished, such as at our employment, or work on our house or car. We must complete either a college degree or a trade school certification. We need to raise children, and our spouse is out of town for months at a time. We need to do things like survive a war in our country or go to another country to conduct war.
It is literally impossible to define all the reasons to form a team. It is my considered position that the only way to form a team is with team members who hold the necessary skills to deliver their part of the work the team accomplishes. Otherwise, there is no justifiable reason for that person to be on the team. A team has a specific purpose to accomplish. Neither mentoring nor coaching is conducted as the purpose of a team. It is reasonable to conclude that accomplishing the work as soon as possible while consuming the least amount of resources possible is the most efficient way to operate as a team.
Where I am going with the concept of a team is trust. Trust must always exist between all team members. The topic of trust is one of the most painful topics I have encountered in my life. Addressing the topic of trust responsibly means that next week is the episode where I will do it.
I suggest you spend the time between now and the coming week considering the topic of teams and come up with some examples of how you would benefit in your life by way of a team helping you achieve your goals and objectives. Then, consider the aspect of duration for the time it will take to accomplish the goals and objectives you have before you. Finally, think about the term trust, without me defining it today, so you will have the term trust at the forefront of your thinking for the episode next week, supported by the topic of teams. It is my guess that the term trust will cause you not to want to form a team to help you accomplish the goals and objectives you have before you. I intend to convince you otherwise next week.
Well, that's it for today.
RICHLY IS GOODLY!
Thank you for joining me for this episode of The Richly or Poorly Show!
I have enjoyed presenting to you today.
Until the next episode, I hope you will be safe and join me next week.
Until then.
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