looks up at Rose and can see that she's concerned. ‘Well what would you have done?’ he asks.
‘Did you listen to his reasons for wanting to focus on solar energy? Were they valid?’ she asks.
‘I told him I'd do some research and that I'd consider it,’ Adam replies.
‘That's not what I asked…’ Rose shakes her head slightly. Adam looks away again. The message light on his phone is still blinking. ‘Adam, you are going to have to approach this slightly differently to your job at the moment. I know you're used to being able to dictate exactly what happens, but you need to be a bit more collaborative with this venture.’
‘You think I should speak to Kaito again and consider switching to solar instead of wind?’ he asks, with a hint of disbelief in his voice.
‘I'm not saying you have to change your opinion, but you should definitely be open to that idea,’ she says. ‘He's an expert in his field and there's a reason why you chose to contact him. That's all I'm saying.’
‘But I said I'd research it and go back to him. I didn't completely dismiss his ideas…’ Adam's voice trails off.
Rose is still looking at him, even though he can't meet her gaze. ‘That's not quite the same thing as listening to him though, is it?’ she asks, not really expecting a response.
Adam sighs, ‘No, I suppose not, but what am I supposed to do? Just do whatever anyone else wants? That's no way to run a business.’ He's starting to raise his voice.
‘That's not what I'm saying either,’ Rose says, in a calm and even tone. ‘You know that's not what I'm saying. Just answer me this, why do you want Kaito to be involved?’
‘Because he knows so much about the renewable space and he's been working in that sector for years,’ Adam answers instantly, adding, ‘And because I trust him, we have a good relationship.’
Rose smiles. ‘There you go then, you know what you need to do.’ She reaches out and squeezes his arm. Adam looks at her. ‘You're doing the right thing and you'll do great things, just remember that you can't do this alone and we all have our strengths.’ She leans in and hugs him. Adam lets out a sigh as his arms tighten around his wife. ‘What would I do without you?’ he asks.
**********
When Adam checks his messages after dinner, he sees that one is from Kaito asking to talk. After his talk with Rose he's feeling much calmer and has realised that he needs Kaito's input. He suggests another call the following day at the same time. To his immense relief, Kaito agrees.
Adam is restless when he goes to bed. He tosses and turns and is constantly woken by the sound of the wind racing through the trees outdoors. The more he focuses on the need to sleep, the harder he finds it to disconnect. He's relieved when he sees the first shafts of sunlight breaking through the gap in the curtains.
Although he's the first out of bed, he's the last one to reach the kitchen for breakfast in the morning. Georgia greets him with a smile and Rose offers him coffee. ‘What do you want for breakfast?’
‘I'm not really hungry,’ Adam replies, sounding slightly distracted. ‘I've got another call with Kaito this morning,’ he adds by way of explanation. Rose smiles, ‘That's great,’ she says. ‘I hope so,’ Adam replies.
‘Who's Kaito?’ Georgia pipes up. ‘He's a guy that I'm hoping to work with on this new venture,’ Adam explains. ‘Cool! Is he an expert in wind energy?’ she asks, beaming. ‘Actually, he's a solar expert,’ Adam responds. ‘You're going to do solar too? That's awesome, there's so much potential for solar energy, especially in places like Africa,’ Georgia says. ‘Well, that's what we're going to talk about today,’ Adam adds. He doesn't want Georgia to get too excited about this just yet.
‘I'd better get going,’ he says, glancing at his watch. He downs the last of his coffee, planting a kiss on Rose's lips as he passes her to put his mug in the sink. He kisses the top of Georgia's head as he leaves the kitchen and for once she doesn't protest. In spite of feeling concerned, Adam is smiling by the time he gets in his car.
***************
Adam has butterflies in his stomach as 10.30 a.m. approaches at work. When he dials into the call with Kaito he's nervous and relieved when Kaito greets him warmly. After his talk with Rose last night he'd been worried that he'd really upset his friend.
‘I just have something I'd like to say,’ Kaito begins. Adam's heart sinks. He's going to say he doesn't want to come in on the venture. ‘I felt as though you didn't really listen to me properly yesterday and I think that's a mistake. There is so much potential in solar energy and I'm well positioned to help you take advantage of that. I'm not dismissing wind energy out of hand, but I really think that solar is the place to start to build a strong foundation…’
Adam cuts in, ‘Kaito, I'm sorry that I seemed so dismissive yesterday. And you're right, I didn't really listen properly. Please can you talk me through your points again? I want to take notes so I can do some research myself.’
Kaito visibly brightens. He seems to sit up straighter and there's a new energy to his speech. ‘Sure, I'm really pleased you want to work through this thoroughly.’
After half an hour, Adam can see why Kaito was so keen to start with solar energy and he is beginning to appreciate the business case for doing so. But his heart is still set on wind energy. Maybe we could do both?
‘This has been great, thank you,’ Adam says warmly and he means it. ‘I still want to go away and do a bit of research myself before we settle on solar along with wind, particularly in relation to the market in the UK, but I can feel myself leaning in your direction now.’
Kaito breaks into a grin. ‘Of course, I wouldn't expect you to make a decision like this immediately. I've got some notes that I'll send via email, it's just a few places where you can look for research and so on. It'll save you a bit of time anyway.’
‘Great, I'll pull together my research on wind energy and send that over to you as well. Where do we go from here?’ Adam asks.
‘We'll definitely need a financial expert,’ Kaito says, ‘Someone who can help us to raise the funds we need. How about Jeff? The guy from California who we met at that conference in 2012? Are you still in touch with him?’ Adam nods. ‘I am actually. I'll get in touch with him as soon as we're off this call and set up a meeting for the three of us.’
**************
The second rock for building your virtual power team is what's known as the Strengths Matrix. I'm a big believer in strength‐oriented management, which means you strengthen the strength instead of developing the weakness.
This isn't a new concept and it's certainly not my invention. In fact, Gallup has a book called StrengthsFinder 2.0, which includes a very sophisticated test with 64+ questions to establish your key strengths and develop an action plan.
For virtual teams, I believe we need a more pragmatic approach that delivers faster solutions. There's an exercise I use, after the lifeline exercise I discussed earlier in this section, where I ask people to list their top strengths. I'll share the exercise with you in more detail in a moment, but first you need to understand why it's so important to identify
