A Teams.

The 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team created one of the most powerful moments in American history. On February 22, 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, the stronger, dominant Russian team seemed unstoppable - until a determined and tenacious team of American college hockey players changed the calculus, and arguably, won the most important and dramatic game in the history of sports. Most leaders and working professionals agree there are important and specific ingredients required to build, sustain and engage a successful team, company, country or family: competent, effective leaders with vision and purpose, a team culture that values and respects ideas, innovation, and diversity, and a highly-committed group of people with both complementary and synergistic talents and skills. Solid teamwork requires a lot of structure, focus, alignment, trust, and good old-fashioned hard work. Building and sustaining the proverbial “A Team” requires all that – and a lot of magic sauce, too.?There is plenty of scientific evidence that A Teams do remarkable things and achieve far beyond average teams. Why? How can we continue to leverage the best thinking and experience to build and participate in the victory of an A Team??

Eagles want to hang out with eagles, not turkeys. A players want to play with other A players, not C players.?That is simply how the world works.?Mike Eruzione, Jim Craig, and many others on that special hockey team in 1980 were excellent college athletes and A players; but more importantly the team played as one strong, cohesive A Team and won the Gold Medal. Did you have the pleasure to see Walt Disney Picture’s production of that special win entitled, Miracle (2004), starring Kurt Russell as the coach, Herb Brooks? It is a dramatic, rough-and-tumble true story of how a dysfunctional group of hockey players transformed into a special A Team – and changed the world.?

Hockey teams can achieve tremendous potential when they share a compelling vision and narrative of what is possible, leverage their complimentary talents, and work in synchronicity as an A Team. So can business teams and families. Gallup reminds us annually that more than 70% of workers are disengaged at work and it is costing American companies more than $500 billion in lost productivity every year. The Europeans and Japanese are even more disengaged than Americans.?It sounds like we have a lot of “Eagle- Teams” running the national economy - and need a whole lot more 1980 Olympic Gold Medal Hockey Teams.?Do you believe in miracles? Don't wait until hell freezes over. What are your best ideas to build, strengthen, and lead your A Team today?

Let's Create More Sparks:?Robert is a curious?Irish-Canadian and well-traveled American who naturally enjoys story telling?that includes lots of?interesting facts and figures.?Stats and data points help tell powerful stories. Interesting quotes and good books bring vivid colors and memorable shapes to?a story. Good stories inspire the human spirit. Ideally?you found an?idea or two in this?LinkedIn article that you can now use as a fantastic conversation starter with friends or colleagues over a good cup of coffee on a leisurely Saturday afternoon.