What’s really going on when you watch a professional sports draft?
They’re picking players, and trying to build that team to win championships.
As a business owner, you’re doing the same thing.
You get to pick your own players. You choose who you hire as well as what your organization looks like. So stack the deck.
Why wouldn’t you?
Look at some of the best teams, especially in the NBA — they’re just stacked. Certain players will move to another team and turn it into this all-star team that is constantly winning championships.
Why would you not want to do the same thing in your business and have the absolute best players? It doesn’t necessarily mean the most skilled or talented; a lot of it is also about culture fit.
So what is that unique combination of picking the right people in your organization who are going to work and move in the same direction, operate in alignment, and execute flawlessly to win your own version of championships (achievement of goals, fulfillment of vision, etc.)?
At the end of every year, I look at our team and ask myself if we have the right composition for the championship we’re trying to win next year. If not, then what needs to change? What types of players do we need to bring on board? Maybe there are a few that need to come off the team.
This balancing act has a level of complexity, but also of beauty, because when you get it right and it’s working harmoniously, you can feel it in everything from your culture to your execution of goals.
And when there are kinks in the armor (gossip, drama, or any other negative feature), that tells you that your team composition may not be fully aligned. As a result, the culture won’t be fully aligned.
Always remember this: as the business owner, you pick the players. You choose who’s on the bench and who’s off the bench.
So why would you not want to stack the deck?
