Sports are great. Cheering for our favorite teams, cheering against our rivals. Many of our best relationships have come from watching or playing sports.
The culture and success of our favorite teams are great topics for the water cooler. How do those topics relate to our business? Could Butler Basketball give us a roadmap?
Watching Butler Basketball has been amazing the past 10 years. We all jumped on the band wagon as the team was a last-second shot away from winning a National Championship in 2010. The love stayed as Butler found its way back to the final game in 2011.
While the success has created opportunities for Butler coaches to move to larger schools, Butler Athletic Director Barry Collier has been a miracle worker (see IndyStar article) on keeping the ball rolling for the Dawgs.
From an organizational standpoint, how would your business perform if you had to replace key leadership roles every couple years? Would the focus be on getting the highest-ranked guru available? Or would your company awareness enable you to identify the next Brad Stevens?
There will come a time when outstanding coaches will stay at Butler. Until then, Collier keeps reloading with class individuals with an understanding of Butler Basketball.
That’s what we need for our companies. Leaders that understand the organization’s personality and what makes it different.
Culture matters. Relationships matter.