Business is a Team sport

This time last year I was planning a trip to see the start of the Tour de France in Leeds.

Being a Man United fan rather than a Team Sky fan I went for the spectacle and the buzz, more than the cycling. Although having dragged myself over the Pennines a couple of times doing the coast to coast by bike I have a very real appreciation for how fit these guys are.

Cycling is unusual though. One man wins, receives all the plaudits, and goes down in the annals of sporting history, yet it’s a team sport.

The only way that one man wins is because his team mates are willing to employ team tactics, sacrifice themselves, even give him their bike if his is damaged, to give him the very best chance of winning.

The team leader trusts every man in his squad and their commitment to the team and to his success, is total.

You could say the same about Formula 1. Each team member knows their job, knows how crucial their role is in delivering success, and as a team, they perform like a well-oiled machine to enable the driver, who takes the glory.

Taking that idea into your business, how well-drilled and committed is your team?

Would they get off their bike and give it to you if you had a puncture, or would they ride past laughing?

Do they celebrate business success as if it was their name above the door?

Do you give them the opportunity to feel this way?

In “Process to Profit, I talked about how we achieve consistently high levels of business performance…

“We hire people who really want to do the job; we train them in our processes and systems, then we practice over and over and over again. We correct and coach individuals when they make a mistake, we celebrate when they perform well. It is a whole team effort; we win or lose as a team.”

That’s the Formula 1 way, it’s the Team Sky way, it’s the McDonald’s way.

Is it your way?

Ask yourself:

• If a team is a group of people who trust one another…do I have a team?
• Do they perform like Formula 1, or are they more Wacky Races?
• Am I always hands on, doing their job? (if you are, who’s doing yours?)
• Is my team generally going in the right direction but everyone does things “their way”?
• What would it take for you to build a team that you trust enough to leave them to it?

It may seem several steps too far right now, but…

Do one thing: make it your goal that 12 months’ from today you will have replaced yourself in your business by building simple systems and a great team to run them.

And if you don’t know where to start or how you’ll get there, we’re here to help you – one step at a time and one system at a time.

This time last year I was planning a trip to see the start of the Tour de France in Leeds.

Being a Man United fan rather than a Team Sky fan I went for the spectacle and the buzz, more than the cycling. Although having dragged myself over the Pennines a couple of times doing the coast to coast by bike I have a very real appreciation for how fit these guys are.

Cycling is unusual though. One man wins, receives all the plaudits, and goes down in the annals of sporting history, yet it’s a team sport.

The only way that one man wins is because his team mates are willing to employ team tactics, sacrifice themselves, even give him their bike if his is damaged, to give him the very best chance of winning.

The team leader trusts every man in his squad and their commitment to the team and to his success, is total.

You could say the same about Formula 1. Each team member knows their job, knows how crucial their role is in delivering success, and as a team, they perform like a well-oiled machine to enable the driver, who takes the glory.

Taking that idea into your business, how well-drilled and committed is your team?

Would they get off their bike and give it to you if you had a puncture, or would they ride past laughing?

Do they celebrate business success as if it was their name above the door?

Do you give them the opportunity to feel this way?

In “Process to Profit, I talked about how we achieve consistently high levels of business performance…

“We hire people who really want to do the job; we train them in our processes and systems, then we practice over and over and over again. We correct and coach individuals when they make a mistake, we celebrate when they perform well. It is a whole team effort; we win or lose as a team.”

That’s the Formula 1 way, it’s the Team Sky way, it’s the McDonald’s way.

Is it your way?

Ask yourself:

• If a team is a group of people who trust one another…do I have a team?
• Do they perform like Formula 1, or are they more Wacky Races?
• Am I always hands on, doing their job? (if you are, who’s doing yours?)
• Is my team generally going in the right direction but everyone does things “their way”?
• What would it take for you to build a team that you trust enough to leave them to it?

It may seem several steps too far right now, but…

Do one thing: make it your goal that 12 months’ from today you will have replaced yourself in your business by building simple systems and a great team to run them.

And if you don’t know where to start or how you’ll get there, we’re here to help you – one step at a time and one system at a time.

For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk