IT’S ALWAYS AND ONLY ABOUT THE TEAM
Tags: Business, Jim Collins, Leadership, NFL, Superbowl
It’s February 4th, 2007, Super Bowl Sunday… The Indianapolis Colts deliver an astonishing victory over the Chicago Bears with a 29-7 victory. I still remember it. The Indianapolis Colts; a team built for indoors found its footing on a rain soaked track. But there they stood… victors! Peyton Manning; quarterback for the Colts, was elected MVP, and Coach Dungy became the very first black coach to win the championship, beating his good friend and protege Lovie Smith in the game that featured the first two black coaches in the Super Bowl.
Now imagine this… How far do you think either of those two teams would’ve made it through the season if the main qualifier for being on the starting line was longevity on the team, or politics, rather than talent, contribution and performance? Not very far… wouldn’t you say?
Why do so many businesses and organizations promote people to leadership positions based on tenure or nepotism rather than performance and contribution? The insanity of that philosophy and methodology is palpable to me.
Run your business or organization like a championship football team. Promote those that add value and deliver victories over, and over, and over again to your organization.
In his book; Good To Great, Jim Collins emphatically exclaims that we must always ensure that we have the right people on the bus, and just as importantly, that those people are in the right seat of the bus.
Your team will either make or break your organization. Value them over your customers, but expect much from them. Do you have the wrong people on your bus? Or perhaps you have the right people on your bus, but they’re in the wrong seat?
I assure you that it’s your team; not your customers or clients, that determine whether your organization scores victories over your competitors. It’s always and only about the team.