Focus on What Your Company Does Well
March 8th, 2011It is so important for companies, whether a start-up or start-over (which is what we specialize in), to know, understand and leverage what they do well. That separates them from the rest of the pack.
Ask yourself and members of your team, “What is it that we do better than others that will allow us to win?” In the book Good to Great, the great companies ask, “What do we do better than anyone else?”
Former UCLA champion basketball coach John Wooden had his teams practice what they did well as teams. Each player knew his role and contributed his best performance. As a result, his teams won an astounding number of NCAA championships.
Focus on What Your Team Does Well
Most teams focus on how to defeat the other team. Not John Wooden’s teams. John had his teams focus on excelling at what they did best. That was his secret source; that was the game plan he perfected.
As we look at the analogy of sports and business, John Wooden was on the mark that you need to develop – know and hone what you do well to give you the chance to succeed. When the individuals in your team know their roles and contribute their best performances, you will win.
The formula for success, as Wooden knows, is simple but not easy. What is the key to your success? The success of your company?
What Makes a Successful Team? (Part 2)
March 1st, 2011Last week, we talked about Coachable, Approachable, Lift to Climb and Execution. The other three characteristics we have seen show up big time in successful teams are:
5. Communicative: Teams that are great at communicating are transparent and share information with regularity across the organization. They create clear expectations and make sure there is a clear understanding and agreement. The leader models this behavior.
6. Teaming: Teaming is a critical element in their work, from building teams of leaders to teaming with their peers as part of achieving great results. These types of teams don’t get siloed within their teams, and they make sure their organizations don’t get siloed. Utilizing everyone’s talents and putting everyone in the right role is important to teaming.
7. Innovative/Creative: Teams that are innovative don’t get stuck in a rut. Instead, they think outside the box. They bring creative solutions, such as the use of resources, to difficult situations. Rather than bring a problem to the leader, they bring a solution or a number of potential solutions. 
So, how does your team stack up to these seven traits of a successful team? These characteristics can also be looked at as traits for successful leaders. But, what we hope is that a team becomes a group of leaders, that everyone leads from wherever they sit, and that team members begin to move the needle and hold each other accountable.
We’d love to hear from you. What are some of the characteristics you think are important for successful teams? What are some examples in your organization?
What Makes a Successful Team?
February 22nd, 2011In our experience, working with companies like Google, MapQuest and small start-ups, we’ve learned that there are a number of characteristics that make a great team.
Coachable: That means they’re open to feedback and learning new ways. They want to improve themselves and the way they perform. They are students of the game, and they always want to learn more.- Approachable: People who are approachable on a team are accessible, inviting and willing to engage others within their department and outside of their organization. They make time for others.
- Lift to Climb: Team members who develop others understand and demonstrate that this is the key to success for a leader, and they can lead from any place on the team. They know they are valued by grooming others as leaders to reach their potential, and their schedule provides an opportunity to do this.
- Execution: As Parcells often says, “You are your record.” These teams meet and exceed business objectives through others. As individuals, they understand they are responsible, and they welcome the challenge for how their team contributes to the larger mission. They are all about execution.
So, take a look at these, and rate your team on a scale of 1 to 10. How coachable are they? How approachable are they? Do they develop others and “lift to climb?” Do they have a good record of executing?
Next week we will go through Part 2: Communicative, Teaming, and Innovative/Creative.
Got Culture?
February 10th, 2011Why do organizations need to be concerned with culture? Because, culture impacts your bottom line.
Toony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos
Culture defines your values and determines whether your company is set to win or set to struggle. Culture means the difference between people wanting to come to work, wanting to make a difference and wanting to win versus people wasting time complaining, gossiping and stagnating.
Startup companies have such a great opportunity to create the culture of the organization when they begin. As you define your product, your marketing, your strategy… take time to define the culture and how you are going to communicate it.
Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos (and author of Delivering Happiness) says that culture and brand are two sides of the same coin. Both are critical to the mission and vision of the company. To put this into practice, Zappos had their people write down what culture meant to them.
One of our favorite clients, MapQuest, set up a Culture Group who went out and talked to folks to get feedback and then delivered it to the CEO. The outcome was the development of a Leadership Circle who meets regularly with the CEO to discuss business strategy and provide feedback. More on that… stay tuned.
The Dancing Guy: It’s All About the Followers
December 1st, 2010We love this video it makes us want to get up and dance! It speaks to the magic of movement of people coming together with purpose. How do you replicate this type of energy everyday in your business? How do you choreograph followers and leaders to execute on your vision? How do you continue to shape the way for followers and leaders to act so naturally, in concert with each other?
Building leaders in organizations and businesses is critical-especially in start-up companies. You are looking for followers internally and externally!
Being a leader is so important in business–but doesn’t have any impact unless there are followers. This video depicts the importance of the first followers that can begin a movement. How do you get followers? Sometimes, as with The Dancing Guy, it happens organically.
Acknowledgement: One of the Keys to a Winning Business Team
November 1st, 2010As we look at all the factors that create a winning start-up, we’ve been able to bucket them into four areas: Teaming, Talking, Targeting and Timing. We’ve created a survey that helps businesses evaluate themselves around these success pillars.
We recently saw a great example of Teaming at the Ring Ceremony of the Los Angeles Lakers. If you look at how they each took turns introducing the next players and what they contributed to the team and it’s success–you can imagine doing that in your own organization.
Winning takes so much whether in sports or business and only few dare reach and achieve the pinnacle. The LA Lakers understood this grind and truly share the celebration of not only reaching the peak of their sport but what it took to get there and celebrated each others contribution. A culture of winning is by design no matter whether in business or the grind of professional sports. It is at heart of successful execution.
The impact of being acknowledged by your peers is huge. How could you use this lesson to strengthen your own team at work?
We’d love to hear from you….how do you celebrate success and acknowledge contributions in your company?
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I love to celebrate and acknowledge people in my business. While I am a solo entrepreneur, I find that I have peers and team players working with and for my company all the time. I have one group of business professionals that meet monthly and part of what we do each month is cheer each other on. And the energy and power of that celebration – no matter who it is for – is contagious. Someone once said to me that no book, talk, project or product is developed alone. And that is so true. The power of many is what gets things done and leads to a better working environmenet for all.
Kathleen
Principal, KBK Wealth Connection -
This is an absolutely outstanding idea.
Individual strengths are an essential foundation for personal achievement and team success. Too often we coast along taking the strengths of our colleagues for granted instead of letting them know that we recognize and appreciate them.
Thanks for highlighting the Lakers ring ceremony in the context of business.
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Thanks Susan…what other ways do you see people being acknowledged in some of the companies you work with?
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Thanks so much for the feedback! You will definitely see more of this. Our team works with start-ups and companies on creating a culture of winning and success. Stay tuned.
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This is such an important and overlooked element in building strong teams. I’m glad you pointed it out with such a well-respected team — the Lakers.
I’d love to see more examples of team processes that you think stand out.
Rebecca Morgan
Welcome to PointForward Ventures!
November 1st, 2010PointForward Ventures partners with start-ups and other growing companies to create and execute winning business strategies, develop their teams’ leadership skills and build frameworks and processes to scale their businesses. We take a coaching approach, helping companies and their employees successfully navigate periods of rapid growth or transformation.
Love to hear about your take aways from The Dancing Guy!