During the seven decades of my career, I have had a great track record of building outstanding teams. I have always felt it important to concentrate on our goals, not the size of our organization.

To me, measuring profits has always been a better yardstick than the size of our budgets. There is little point in developing a $10,000 accounting system to track 10 cent pencils.

I credit much of my success to how well these teams performed. While knowing your team and supporting them in times good and bad are critical, defining a culture and setting expectations are equally essential. Communication is the key — there should be no surprises. If I’m in the loop, I’m on your team.

I find the most important question I can ask to start a meeting is simply, “Whaddya got?”