What's on my mind? Building Great Teams...oh, and the Super Bowl!

What does it take to be the best of the best?

It takes a ton of grit, determination, talent, coaching, and...well...a little bit of luck, too!

The Eagles and the Chiefs have already proven that they're the top two teams in the NFL this year. Now it's time to see who's the BEST -- as we'll all tune in on Sunday for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

There are tons of parallels in the building of a Super Bowl contender and an entrepreneur's building of a next-level company.

And, it's no secret that the Super Bowl is big business. For starters, the Super Bowl has a huge economic impact on the US economy. Last year's game was estimated to generate $17.3 Billion in spending by American consumers alone!

But there's a lot more entrepreneurs can take away from the journey to the pinnacle of sports. How did these teams get here? What can we learn and apply from those lessons to our own teams and leadership? And what lessons can we learn from the two teams that lost in the Championship games? You know I love a story of resilience and getting up off the mat!

To be the best, you need great coaching!

I think it's safe to say that the Chiefs Head Coach, Andy Reid has cemented himself as one of the greatest football coaches of all time. Since 1999, he's racked up 273 wins, won 3 Super Bowls, and revitalized two NFL franchises.

Philadelphia's Nick Sirianni has a lot more to prove - but he's off to a phenomenal start in his first four seasons at the helm of the Eagles.

Let's face it: without these coaches, neither the Chiefs nor the Eagles would be where they are today! Great football teams, like great entrepreneurial companies, need someone to lead them, to focus their energy, create impactful strategies, set goals, and hold them accountable to their mission.

How important is GREAT coaching to an entrepreneurial team? Check out what my friend Mark Graban had to say on Unlocking Moves:

You Need B Players to Win Championships!

While watching the conference championship games last Sunday, TV announcer Tony Romo said something that really caught my attention. When Bills WR Mack Hollins caught a touchdown pass to make it a one score game right before halftime in Kansas City - Romo had this to say:

"Someone we talked about in this game, who will have to have a huge impact... One of the hardest workers who does all the dirty work and has come up BIG this year for this team. MACK. HOLLINS. With the biggest catch against the best corner around, in the biggest game of his life."

I gotta tell you -- that got me FIRED UP! No one's going to say they expected Hollins to go off. Hell, in the regular season he only caught 31 passes for 378 yards. Not bad numbers, but not All Pro or even Pro Bowl numbers.

In football, the "A Players" typically get the postgame accolades, the free trips to Hawaii, and the postseason awards. But "B Players" are often the foundations of a championship run. In business, it's the same way!

In Who's Your Mike? A No Bullshit Guide to the People You'll Meet on Your Entrepreneurial Journey, I wrote about the importance of B Players to any team:

There’s a lot we could talk about with those definitions, but we’re going to focus on B players in this chapter. First and foremost, EVERY TEAM HAS B PLAYERS. My team at HireBetter, the 1995–96 Bulls, and your team at [insert company name here] all share this inescapable fact. Anyone who tells you they only hire A players is either full of crap, woefully confused, or just doesn’t recognize the role B players play in entrepreneurial companies.

The keys to managing B players are understanding that they’re on your team and knowing how best to leverage their skill set. As for what to do with them . . . well, as usual, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.

First and foremost, your B player may be perfectly content in their role as an individual contributor, and they have no hopes or expectations for a larger role. I think that’s got to be OK. Not everyone is obsessed with career growth or is wired to go above and beyond to grow the company. Let’s appreciate them for who they are and let them do their best work, without us getting in the way.

Every player - just like every employee - can't be Michael Jordan. They also can't be Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes. You need someone like Mack Hollins to step up in the biggest moments. And while Buffalo didn't win the game, I think we can all learn a huge lesson from Mack's performance in this game!

For more on B Player Bob - check out Who's Your Mike? on Amazon! or DM me and I'll personally send you a PDF of the B Player Bob chapter.

Building Something Special? Better start with CULTURE!

Sometimes teams get in a rut - they're not gelling as a group, they're rowing in different directions, they often have the wrong people in the wrong seats... When shit starts to hit the fan, what can your team fall back on?

CULTURE.

Let's talk about the Washington Commanders. Yes, they lost the NFC championship to the Eagles. But damn if I don't love an underdog, gritty, came-outta-nowhere story - in sports or in business!

To be blunt: the Washington franchise has sucked for a while. Sure they made the playoffs a couple times (once as a 7-9 team...), but they've really struggled with identity lately. Hell, they even tried a complete rebrand from the Redskins to the "Football Team" to the Commanders!

Enter Dan Quinn, who came in to reset the culture. Before the season even started, he said he was looking for a team with "that dog ass mentality".

Much has been said about Quinn and the Commanders' culture this year on their way to their first playoff win since 2005, but I'll let Anthony Lynn (Commanders' Running Game Coordinator) take it from here:

He's the best culture-builder I've seen. When he's done with the NFL, he can just travel and teach people how to build good cultures, because he does that very well. And it just comes so natural to him. It's something he has a passion for. You can see it. And I think that authenticity is what makes guys trust him and buy in so fast.

For a team like the Washington Commanders - culture has been everything in their turnaround. Their story should inspire entrepreneurs to work on their company culture, too! Check out this article I wrote a few years back about building culture on an entrepreneurial team!