Yep. That looks terrible. Seriously, that is an abysmal shade of orange.
But the message is okay. Last Saturday, I played a game where all of the players were on the same team, trying to accomplish the same basic goal. There were times when one player was more helpful than another, and other times when the reverse was true, but we didn't really worry about that. The individual scores didn't matter. We were all working together and, together, we did pretty well.
Contrast that to professional sports. Yes, everyone on a given team is on the same team, but in professional sports, the individual points matter a good deal. The stats of the individual player help that player push for better contracts, land themselves on better teams, and thus make more money. To illustrate, I'm going to prove that I know absolutely nothing about sports.
Let's say that Kobe Bryant and Jamal Johnson both play on the same basketball team, the Oakland Dodgers. Their affiliated team, the Miami Heat, is looking to take on another player - just one. It's a valuable contract, and it'd be a big career step for either Kobe Bryant or Jamal Johnson. All of their stats are tied right now, and there's only one game left before the Heat have to decide who to offer the contract too, Kobe or Jamal.
Kobe has the ball. He tries to make his way to the hoop, but there are too many defenders in the way. He sees that Jamal is open and has a clear shot at the hoop. Right now, Kobe could pass the ball to Jamal, Jamal would score the game winning points, and the - what did I call them? - Oakland Dodgers would win the game. BUT! That would mean that Jamal's individual points would go up rather than Kobe's, and he would probably get the Heat contract. Alternatively, Kobe could try to make a shot from where he was. Odds are, he'd miss, and his team would lose the game, but if he managed to score, then not only would his team win, but more importantly, his individual score would go up and he would likely go on to play for the Miami Heat.
This kind of competition within teams can lead to teams working less effectively. Apply that scenario to a family, or to the workplace, and you're going to have the same problems. As long as people are more concerned with how they're doing as individuals (compared to other individuals in their group) than how their team is doing collectively, there's going to be friction in the group, causing the team to not work so well together, which will be bad for everyone on it.
We need to understand that we're all on the same team here. We're all trying to have a happy family, or to sell a lot of vacuum cleaners (or whatever your company does), or take the Oakland Dodgers to the Playoffs. It doesn't matter who scores more points, who sells more vacuums, or who adds more to the general happiness of the family. As long as the team wins, the whole team wins, and that includes everyone on it. Everyone on the winning team is a winner, no matter who scored the winning points. So we don't need to get compete against each other; we need to help each other. We need to pass the ball to each other, build each other up, and teach each other better vacuum cleaner selling techniques. The better we work together, the better our team will do, and that'll be better for everyone, including ourselves.
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