There’s a certain picture we share of the entrepreneur as a lone wolf: someone going his own way, bucking the establishment, and building a vision that belongs entirely to him.  It’s perhaps magnified in the arts, where each artist has to find a unique, personal voice to stand out from the crowd.  And — as a solo lawyer and a freelance cellist — I admit to feeling some of this romance in my own work.

But the farther I go down the road of entrepreneurship, the more I’m humbled by the impact of the help I’ve received from so many people around me.  So many, I know, artists and entrepreneurs, feel the same way.  They have a team they can count on (or maybe, in Seth Godin’s parlance, a “tribe” that they’re building).

Some of the team members are obvious and formal: funders, partners, employees, board members.  Even more are informal: friends who react emotionally to what’s inspiring about your work and help keep you going; mentors who share some of their hard-earned experience because they’ve caught the same inspiration; clients who are excited about working with you and who spread the word on your behalf.

There’s a bit of magic behind all this; it’s why entrepreneurs and leaders are so often thought of as charismatic.  They have to have something in mind that’ll draw a team together, even when nobody on that team really has to be there, even when so many team members will never properly share the spotlight.  But then — when the team does come together — it’s a remarkable thing.  The shared vision multiplies its impact, and the world changes a little bit.  And that’s what building an organization is really all about.