The Winning Formula: How Drive, Consistency, and Focusing on the Fundamentals Lead to Business Success

As a former elite triathlete and coach to high-performing athletes—including a U.S. Olympian—I’ve witnessed firsthand what it takes to be world-class. It’s not talent alone. It’s the discipline, mindset, and habits that drive exceptional outcomes. Whether in sports or business, the principles are strikingly similar.

To become world-class in any domain, there are three foundational elements: Drive, Consistency, and Focusing on the Fundamentals. Without these, achieving excellence—let alone sustaining it—is nearly impossible. Let's explore each element.

1. Drive: The Fuel Behind Success

Drive is the unrelenting desire to achieve your goals. It’s about showing up, no matter the obstacles, and doing whatever it takes to move the needle. In business, this translates to cultivating a "grow or die" mindset across the entire organization. World-class companies are laser-focused on continuous improvement. The mantra is simple: If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse.

Takeaway: Build a culture where every team member is aligned on growth. Encourage everyone to ask, "What can I improve today?" and foster a mindset where complacency is the enemy.

2. Consistency: The Power of Showing Up

Results don’t happen overnight. Whether it’s an athlete training for competition or a business striving for market dominance, success comes from the accumulation of small, intentional actions over time. Consistency is where many leaders falter. They get distracted, lose focus, or stop reinforcing the habits that drove their initial success.

For businesses, consistency means sticking with proven processes and holding people accountable. Execution matters. It’s about showing up day in and day out, delivering results without fail.

Takeaway: Create routines and rituals that ensure consistency across your organization. Make it a priority to revisit and refine key processes regularly, ensuring they remain effective over time.

3. Focusing on the Fundamentals: Master the Basics

The fundamentals aren’t glamorous, but they’re what separate good from great. Athletes who stick to the basics—perfecting their form, refining their nutrition, or managing recovery—often outperform those who chase the latest trends. The same holds true in business.

World-class companies don’t get distracted by shiny objects. Instead, they focus on what truly matters: monitoring financial health through the P&L, tracking key performance indicators with scorecards, and fostering collaboration through high-impact leadership meetings. These are the foundational practices that ensure sustainable success.

Takeaway: Identify the "non-negotiables" in your business and prioritize them relentlessly. Avoid distractions and double down on what works.

As Managing Partner of 3-Pillars Performance Group, I’ve seen how these principles—Drive, Consistency, and Fundamentals—apply not just to athletes but also to organizations. Through the 3-Pillars Blueprint System, we help leaders in industries like construction and manufacturing adopt these principles to sharpen their competitive edge.

Like an athlete preparing for a race, businesses must train to compete. Markets are brutal, and those who fail to refine their skills and processes will inevitably be overtaken by competitors. The good news? Success doesn’t require reinventing the wheel. It requires discipline, focus, and commitment to these three core elements.

Drive fuels your ambition. Consistency builds momentum. Focusing on the fundamentals sustains growth. Together, these elements form the foundation of world-class performance—whether you’re competing on the field, on the track, in the pool or in the boardroom.

Here are some action steps to consider for your business.

1. Cultivate Drive: Establish a "growth-first" mindset across your team. Make it part of your culture.
2. Commit to Consistency: Identify key processes and hold yourself and your team accountable to execute them daily.
3. Master the Fundamentals: Define and double down on the core practices that deliver results. Monitor them rigorously.

Achieving World-class performance isn’t easy, but it is simple. The organizations—and individuals—willing to embrace these principles will find themselves not just competing but thriving.

Having competed in The IRONMAN Hawaii Triathlon World Championships 8-times, being an IRONMAN Master Coach and now dedicating himself to coaching CEO’s as a Vistage Worldwide, Inc. Chair, Troy Jacobson has worked with the highest performers in many professions.? As the Managing Partner of the 3-Pillars Performance Group , based in Tucson Arizona, he oversees the delivery of the 3-Pillars Blueprint Program designed to help organizations grow by leaning into the core elements of Drive, Consistency and focusing on the Fundamentals. Learn more at www.3pillarsperformance.com