Best System To Build A Winning Team

Every great business, team, culture, or society that has endured adversity and challenge all had one thing in common - a set of simple but powerful rules that govern their internal behaviours and expectations. It’s called a code of honour.

These rules are so significant that Rich Dad advisor, Blair Singer, wrote an entire how-to book about it entitled “The Team Code Of Honour.” It’s a complete step-by-step system for properly choosing players, creating the code, increasing performance, and winning.

We’ve heard about these codes when we think of things like the Marine Corps, The Ten Commandments, or the Constitution. Unfortunately, most businesses don’t realize the benefits of creating a code so that they can have a high-performance team and allow them to operate as efficiently as they are capable of working. 

If making sales is the number one skill in business, number two has to be the ability to bring ordinary people together to build a championship team. This does not happen accidentally or by acquiring new talent. The code is the core element to creating winning organizations. Having a code of honour is critical because it bridges all facets of business, investment, entrepreneurship and peoples’ personal lives.

People are unpredictable and will create their own rules under pressure. Without a code, people will act in ways that are comfortable and familiar. They will play according to the only rules they know. But the consequences of their actions become a reflection of the quality of the organization’s products or services. Let’s take a look at a business that was growing rapidly and the steps that helped them realize the need to create a code of honour.

Brad co-owns a very successful auto detailing business. We took a snapshot of his current business reality by creating an org-chart of his team. Next, we built a chart that reflected the future success of his business three years into the future. Next, we contrasted the two charts. Then I said, “who isn’t a strong team player and part of your three-year plan?” In other words, who creates chaos and confusion by gossiping, blaming, complaining and fault-finding. He immediately named two people that didn’t fit on his team.

Then it hit him! He quickly realized, “I’ve got to let them go, but we’ve been working together for so long and they need this job?” I said, “you have to think about the survival and the success of your business – you need to replace them. It’s nothing personal.”

He had deeply rooted habits, practices, and long-term relationships that were really personal. That was a huge hurdle for him, but he knew that his business came first. It was going to be uncomfortable, but the strength of his team mattered more because it was impacting his ability to perform at his highest level.

The key to success is playing to people’s strengths. The key to failure is trying to please everyone.

To solve this problem and avoid breakdowns and misunderstandings, you must create a framework of rules and standards for your team so that everyone understands how to treat each other not only in good times but in tough times. The growth or death of your business will depend on how you handle difficult moments. The higher the performance of the team, the tighter the tolerances need to be.

You have to decide at what level you want to play. Hot dog stand outside the mall or high-performing enterprise. Your code will determine the level you want play at, but it will also determine who you attract onto your team.

The stronger your code, the greater its power to attract great people. It will act like a magnet attracting others of the same high-performance mindset. The clearer you are, the more like-minded people will be attracted to your organization.

The code is a system for solving recurring, regularly appearing issues that your team faces. If tardiness is an ongoing issue, the code will solve it. If people have a hard time being accountable, the code will resolve it. The code will identify not only the symptoms of the problems within your team, but it will also reveal the underlying problems.

Also, the code will uncover what is working in your business. It will identify if your team comes together under pressure or if they celebrate each other’s wins. It will help you isolate positive behaviours and determine why they don’t happen consistently.

Once you have a code of honour, it will hold your team accountable to each other and the mission of your organization. Most people don’t know who’s on their team until they are under pressure. That’s why creating a dozen or fewer rules or standards ahead of time is critical to the success of your business.

The best thing you can do now is to get a copy of The Team Code Of Honour and start crafting your business's code of honour.