Go Pats...

I know it's Saturday but I live a long way from Boston and indeed from Miami which is where the Pats played the Dolphins last Monday.  And I don't get sent the recordings till later in the week.  But at least I'm getting them this year.

It was a remarkable game with the Pats getting a fine win after making plays from every piece of the playbook.  Blocked punts, interceptions, rushing, brilliant passes from Brady and the remarkable Woodhead hopefully receiving a well earned sizeable bonus.  And this from a team playing 14 newbies - rookies or second year players.  And a surprising number of those players NOT coming from the draft.

I think it's a remarkable testimony to the very special talent of Bill Bellichick.  He finds skills where others didn't.  And he makes a team pull together and shine as a team in double quick time.

While we were watching I mentioned to my wife that part of it was the team doesn't have divas or prima donnas among the players just a bunch of superstars.  "No," she said, "the TEAM is a Superstar and every one of them knows it."

And she's spot on.  The team is a discrete entity and IT is a Superstar.  It shows in their game.  Hell, Brady said in an interview that two weeks ago he didn't even know Woodhead's full name.  He does now and they look like they've been playing together for years.

Imagine if you took this skill and applied it to a business.  If Bill could come in and fill your company with the heroes no one else noticed, weld them into a team with a shared Vision and a willingness to give whatever it takes for the team to shine.

Most CEOs/MDs probably think they do this.  But they don't.  There are few companies that are as together as a single entity as the Pats at their peak.  But it's doable.  It's not even very complicated - just incredibly difficult.

Look at the skills people actually display.  Not the ones listed on the resume or suggested by the current job title.  See what they actually CAN do if give the space.  Then give them the space.  Reward people for individual excellence and reward them even more for group excellence.  Let 'em have fun.  Listen to everyone.  Draw firm boundaries but give them freedom within. Let them call most of their own plays under your tutelage.  Know that sometimes you do have to yell but mostly you don't.  Know that occasionally you have to punish but mostly you don't.  Know that sometimes you have to let people go but mostly you don't.

Always remember that journeymen have a valuable place and it is just as valuable in the long haul as a star QB.  But less visible.  Let 'em all go to Disneyland.  This year.