Culture Performs.

If you know much about teams, you likely know that one of the highest performing teams on planet earth belongs to the US Navy - The Blue Angels. Flying an airplane is a challenge in itself, let alone at 200mph and 18 inches apart from 4-5 others. And that's just the standard. To put it into perspective, one of my favorite books, Fearless Success by John Foley, a former Blue Angel Pilot, shares that when the incoming Blue Angels team arrives on the first day, their egos are high and their humility is often lacking. They are chosen to be Blue Angels because they are among the best. However, as soon as they get in the air in a ride along with the current pilots, John Foley notes that that mentality quickly changes. He shares that after almost every first ride along, the question among the new pilots is this, "How are WE supposed to do THAT?"

Seems like a bold question coming from a group of pilots selected to be among the best. So how do they do it? The secret is far from the ability to fly. It's in the people. Foley notes that their team spends more time in the conference room talking things over, briefing, planning, etc. than actually flying, and that everyone has a "Glad To Be Here" mentality.

This might seem ridiculous considering that the stunts the Blue Angels perform are extremely dangerous and the stakes are a lot higher than lost productivity or a month of added debt, but it makes a great point.

Culture Performs.

You have to have the right people. People that want to be present and want to do a good job and want to work with others. The truth is that you're only going to get 100% from someone who wants to be there. If they don't want to be there and you're impressed with their performance, there's a good chance you're not even seeing their full efforts. You may have the best person in every position, but if they don't want to be there and be a part of the team, then your whole operation is going to be left wondering, "How are WE supposed to do THAT?"

The Blue Angels perform because they build a culture that performs, not because they have the best pilots. They create those.

One of my favorite memories from club soccer was during my senior year of high school. We won our bracket every year before that, so SLYSA (St. Louis Youth Soccer Association) asked that we move up to the top bracket. Our heads were big, and this year we had a different mix of guys than the last two years. In terms of skill, those changes were for the better. We went into the new season ready to stomp on the top bracket of SLYSA and make it look easy. The first ranked team we played beat us 13-0 and that was after putting their subs in at 8. Our thoughts after that game for the rest of the season were, "How are WE supposed to do THAT?" We went on to learn that that team only had a handful of players not committed to a top D1 soccer program. Fast forward to the end of the season and we played them again. Our skill level increased a tad, but our team relationship had grown substantially. We supported each other, communicated, criticized with compassion, and more than anything, we LOVED playing together. This time around, we played their starters the whole game and lost 2-0, and by no means did we get out played and get lucky to only lose by 2. There was no doubt they were still the better team, but boy did we make them work for it. We weren't all of the sudden looking at top D1 programs; we weren't at that skill level, but our culture matched it.

If you're looking to be good, get highly qualified people and leave them to it. They'll get the job done. If you're looking to perform, build a culture.

Culture Performs.