Happy Anniversary

2015 is an anniversary year for me.  25 years in the consulting business, 15 of those years as Team Leadership Culture (TLC).

Someone suggested that I write the “25 things I’ve learned in 25 years!”  Sounds like a great idea.

#1 thing I’ve learned in 25 years of consulting:

Hit the Sweet Spot!

If you’re a golfer (or at least someone who enjoys the game regardless of skill level like I am), you know that when you hit the sweet spot of the club face, wonderful things happen.  The ball tends to sore long and straight and you’re usually rewarded by hitting at or near your target.  The other thing that golfers experience is that when you do hit the sweet spot, there is this wonderful feeling that it was almost effortless.  There was no clank of the club hitting the ball and no vibration sent up through the shaft upon impact.  Just a nice smooth striking of the ball in a pure form that feels wonderful.

Hitting the sweet spot in business is much the same.  It feels good, things seem to be working in harmony and we create a trajectory that tends to be long and straight.  Wonderful.

But the real question is “So, what is that sweet spot?”  To me it has become abundantly clear over the last 25 years.

That’s the sweet spot.

Again with the golf analogy: as I’ve observed my game through the years I began to realize that on my poor days I only have one (and sometimes none) aspect of my game working, driver, irons or putter.  On my good days I seem to have two of the three working.  But as I look back as my most successful rounds, all three aspects were working on that given day.  Business is much the same.

At every company I work with I can see patterns related to how many “cylinders” the company is hitting on.  As I’m writing this I can see very clearly in my mind one company in particular.  The individual leadership in many instances seems to be very solid and up to the challenge.  This company has a deep culture that has been in place for many years and drives their performance.  But as I look back over the years there seemed to be a particular turning point when team work began to fade.  Individual success, loyalty to a particular leader, unit and division success rather than whole company success began to be the measured standard.  Team work simply seemed to fade away over time.

In decades past it didn’t seem to make much difference.  Success always came.  Conditions in the market place could always be overcome or exploited.  They were the king of the hill and were reward for being on top.  But, in today’s fast paced, every changing world, companies are finding that they need to be quick and nimble.  Only team oriented companies can respond quickly with nimbleness.  Great leadership and deep cultures alone will not survive.  All three, Team, Leadership and Culture, are required to survive in today’s world.

Well, number one of the 25 things I’ve learned over 25 years seemed to come easily.  I’ll have to think about the next 24.  But as I do, I’ll share them with you.