I love sports. I love the life lessons it teaches in regards to working together as a team for a common goal, overcoming adversity and pushing yourself beyond your limits. Seeing first-hand how you as an individual and your team stack up against the competition is powerful.
My favorite sport is football. The weekend that I look forward to more than any other occurs when the NFL Draft is on television. I record every day of the draft from Thursday thru Saturday and watch it all. My wife of course thinks I am extremely weird for doing this, but I truly enjoy the draft process. Seeing the needs of each team, who they select and at the end of the draft, how the players they chose compare to other teams is fascinating to me. Every NFL General Manager is trying to find that perfect pick: the one that combines unmatched talent and character with a true “team-guy.” The player that will do whatever it takes for the good of the team. A great movie that illustrates the process is Draft Day starring Kevin Costner.
The correlation between sports and business is similar in many ways but one of the main links is the idea of creating the right culture. Businesses strive to create a culture that fosters forward-thinking ideas, opportunities for their employees to thrive and a place where people truly enjoy going to work every day. A culture is not built overnight. It is just like building a house. You must first lay the foundation. Key players are brought on board to show everyone around them how to work hard, go above and beyond the call of duty, have a great attitude and bring a new energy to the team. In many cases, over time you start to see other employees “raise their game” and it fosters an environment where people can thrive. People must also be in “the right seat on the bus” as Jim Collins, author of Good to Great outlines. Meaning you must match the right employee with the right job.
Here at Priority1 we have spent the last several years fostering our culture and in return we have seen very positive changes.
When a company is able to find the sweet spot by utilizing an employee’s skill set and personality to match the needs of the business, a sustaining and electric culture is achieved.
Troy Lampley, Financial Assurance Manager
