Viewing our team as a sports team versus a family is helping in building the A team

Our leadership team is currently reading “No Rules Rules: Netflix & The Culture of Reinvention” and a key point, how Netflix views their company, is a great conversation starter.  They believe that in order to have a high performance culture we need to use the analogy of a sports team rather than a family.  In doing so, a company will continually make tough decisions to ensure the best player is manning each post.  That’s part of building the A team, which is our ultimate goal here at IAM.

While building a successful business and creating a solid working environment, you must put in place a business model that brings its employees together in a way that everyone wins. The owners, the coaches, the players, the A Team, the Company.

When you approach a business like a sports team, each player has a specific position on the court or field to achieve a specific goal, however, the end goal for everyone is the same, and that is to win. It takes every player to get the job done. It takes grit, preparation, consistency, structure, game planning, dedication, perseverance, and watching game films to give and receive feedback to improve performance and statistics. Applying these same core values and standards to a business is a great analogy and comparison because building an A team in a business is setting your business up to win the title.

Taking the sports team approach, the coaches have to ensure that the right players are in the right position to make the team work  to make the dream work.

Treating your business like a ‘family’ is less effective because there are no structured rules or operating systems in place and you’re less likely to enforce deadlines and give feedback which is one of the most crucial tools in running a successful business, and leading the whole team to a victory!