bcg blog

Culture: The Multiplier

It’s late-February 2015. I’m leaning back on the fake leather couch in our coaches office trying to get my head around the ridiculous amount of talent we are about to face. It’s overwhelming, yet I’m hoping that one final look at my notes for the game will calm my nerves. Or, convince me that I’m not a complete idiot for thinking we have a chance. I take a deep breath, punch my right fist into my left hand, give myself a clenched teeth “Let’s Go!” and walk into our raucous gym, head down.

We’re minutes away from playing against one of the most talented high school rosters I’ve ever seen. The crowd in the Centerville gym is standing room only. What an atmosphere - the fresh smell of popcorn, the comfort of our home gym … on senior night. 

And man, do these seniors deserve it. Eight of our twelve varsity players are seniors. Just two years ago they were faced with the decision of whether or not to trust some random, new coach from lil’ ol’ St. Paris Graham with crazy expectations and an affection for burpees. They deserve this night.  

We’re good, 18-3 and on the way to setting a school record for wins in a season. Two of those three losses were tight games. The other one … well, we got blown out, twenty-pieced the kids might say. Unfortunately, we are facing the same opponent tonight - the Wayne Warriors, one of our biggest rivals. But, more significant at the moment is the fact that they’re really, really, good. Like, really good. 

All five of their starters are division one basketball recruits. Only one percent of high school players go on to play D1. This team has five of them - process that for a second. If that’s not bad enough, their sixth man is going to Ohio State on a football scholarship. Such a weak link …

We don’t have any division one players. We don’t have any division two players either. The first time we played, at their place, this was clear. Their talent out-classed us. But, in the two months since our last meeting, our group had accepted this reality. We now know who we are. We have a new belief.

Talent isn’t our advantage - we believe WE are our advantage.

The game is everything you could imagine - ups and downs, lead changes, big plays by both teams. Incredible. Our guys are relentless throughout the game - never flinching, never wavering. Wayne would knock us out of the tournament on their way to a state championship a few weeks later, but on this night we find a way. It takes overtime and every ounce our team has, but we find a way. 

Back on the couch in the coaches office after the game I become convinced of a truth that I had long suspected but never fully embraced: culture doesn’t add, it multiplies. WE is a much greater advantage than most people will ever acknowledge. And, your culture is the lifeblood of WE.

Why Should We Care?
Thinking of your culture as a multiplier is powerful. One of the aspects of team building that most people struggle to accept: one bad apple is one bad apple too many. 

Let’s look at it from a simple math perspective. Say a bad apple is a zero. What is anything multiplied by zero? Tough one, I know - those flashcards came back to you quickly …That’s right, it’s zero. Now, let’s say the bad apple isn’t just zero, but negative. Any positive number multiplied by any negative number will always be negative. Just by allowing a negative, you make the whole thing negative. You know this to be true. You spend the most time on the zeros and negatives. Stop. 

Accumulating and relying solely on talent is equivalent to addition. Regardless of how great the talent level is, multiplying positives will almost always result in a higher result than simply adding. Create an environment focused on culture, put positive people into that culture, and reap the reward of the great multiplier. Culture is that multiplier - not more talent or more plays. 

The more you pour into your culture, the bigger your multiplier.

REAL TALK - Action Steps
It’s easy to forget about the multiplying effect of culture. We all get caught up with day to day fires to put out, benchmarks to meet, and consumers to appease. In the process, we push the most important part of our team to an afterthought. Here’s a few ideas to keep our culture the priority:

• Keep Doing It
  
  • “Champions were champions before they were champions.” Let that soak in. The benefits you are experiencing from your culture today were all sewn weeks, months, or years before. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t lose faith. Far more greatness was realized through persistence and perseverance than talent. Just keep swinging.
    

• Be Annoying 
  
  • Yea, that’s right. You should be talking about your culture to the point of annoyance. If no one is making fun of you for your values or standards, then you aren’t saying them enough. Take the mocking as a sign of respect - and progress. You literally can’t say it enough. Of course, it should be on the walls, shirts, handouts … but be sure you are also saying it, over and over and over.
    

• Deal Them Daily
  
  • Culture is simply the daily behaviors of your team. The biggest multipliers are created by teams that have established daily habits based on their values and purpose. These intentional, tiny habits need to be clear and articulated throughout the team. Big, annual events steeped in your culture are great, but they don’t pack the punch of consistent, daily actions. 
    

Contrary to what we are told, talent is not the most important aspect of team performance. That’s the beauty of a team, the invisible multiplier of culture will always be the great equalizer.

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