Winning.
What if we could grab an all-access pass to the most winning team in the world’s most prestigious sport, F1, to better understand their winning culture? And, what if we can predict our future Wins?
This debut newsletter post kicks off with practical takeaways from the case “Toto Wolff and the Mercedes Formula One Team”?and the?AI tool, DataRobot, that both blew my mind in equal fashion during #HBAP.
Here’s why. For 18 months, our cohort studied Business Analytics - the theory, the statistical backbone and applications of data science. I’m all in on the key principle: We know that data is gold and the ability to help translate that into actionable wins is premium. ?We dug deep to understand the mathematics powering these AI models, huge wins and epic misses by global firms large and small, and clearly how AI will continue to amplify our work. These two things jumped out at me — in the yell it from the rooftop aha moments. Early in the course, I fell in love. With one word.. the power of prediction. ?The value promise of taking a look at a full marketing campaign (yes, across channels) and using statistiscal analysis tools like regression analysis to predict which features had greatest impact on outcome was like Barbie looking out at that real world. Now, we dug in deeper for months to work to understand the statistical concepts, coding, and interpretation to deliver these predictions. ?Here, I’m going to fast track and show you the tool, DataRobot, that fit the prediction pieces together for me and blew my mind - the aha! If you will.
But first. I want to share a few thoughts on winning culture inspired from a favorite case study that has ignited a bit of an F1 fan moment. ?We have an all-access pass to winning culture in the fast lane. ?Let’s go!
I felt such an electrifying rush sitting in Klarman Hall every second of the 90 min. session.
Professor Anita Elberse leaned in with the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team during the 2021 season on its record-breaking run to try to understand their winning formula. Elberse authored the case to share these observations in the classroom and led us through an ignited discussion on winning culture.
The Scene: F1 is a sport that is "won in the margins". The case is set at the last race of the ‘21 season in Abu Dhabi. The team is on a winning streak, unprecedented in F1.
The Goals:
At the center of this story is Toto Wolff, team principal of the Mercedes-AMG Petronius Formula One team.
“His success leaves no doubt that among F1 team principals, he is the best." - Stefano Domenicali, President & CEO, Formula 1
Toto Wolff creates a culture to win. Period.
Here are the leadership lessons that are crisp reminders to strive to build winning culture on our teams, featured in Alberse subsequent article, "Number One in Formula One".
1. Set the Highest Standards—for Everyone
“Winning is an attitude.” During the season, we saw Wolff bring ‘meticulous’ care and raise the bar of expectation for ALL members in the 1K+ organization. From the drivers to the engineers to the factory, from marketing to hospitality, Wolff infused a winning attitude. There’s a story we focused on of Miguel, brought in as hygiene manager and shown the detail expected in the hospitality guest area, by Wolff himself. (I also spent a few exciting years at the track hosting hospitality guests and I 100% agree and respect that raising the standards higher for all members of the team contributes to a collective winning culture.) The expectation is win. The bar is set high, and then raised.
2. The teams that work best together win.
As principal, Wolff "authentically places people at the center". He prioritizes understanding and knowing the people that make up the team. It is noted that F1 success is clearly driven by engineers and although Wolff doesn't come at the sport as an engineer, he works to know what the engineering community is saying and what they need.
“People ask us all the time about the car, but they should be asking us about the organization." - J. Allison, technical director
He created a framework that enabled their Driver Hamilton to pursue interests in-season, like starring in an International runway show prior to a race, when the norm is disciplined routine in the sport. Where many questioned the move, the driver delivered a leading performance following the show. At the core, people-first enables the team to thrive.
3. Debrief. Why did we win?
"If you sat in the team’s post-race debrief on Monday, it’s challenging to know if they won or lost." The wins are studied with the same rigor as the losses. This includes rolling tape on the race operations to study the decisions the team made during the race. Often, in this review, the team has found that it's usually some process that can be updated to fix an issue, less often it's a single person's decision.
“After a win, most people go home and say, ‘That was a good weekend. It’s only when they lose that they dig deep’.”
A weekend story featured a straight-line speed that surprised the team. He advised the team "We hadn’t witnessed a miracle with our power unit.” ? So, let's figure out why!
4. See it. Say it. Fix it.
The only thing that’ll "get you a red card on this team is lying". Mistakes happen and mistakes at the track are major. However, as principal, he has consistently and publicly backed his team - at the individual level - to show unified support.
"Wolff advocates a no-blame culture and makes a point of—very publicly—backing individuals who make missteps."
There is an expectation of brutal honesty within the team and this fosters a stronger sense of security within the organization. I find this security a fascinating balance in the intense competition of F1.
“As a driver, I need to own my mistakes if I want to level up. That’s how you learn.”
6. Relentlessly chase the next thousandth.
"It is the opposite of complacent." The team admittedly works harder this season than earlier in the winning streak. The same meticulous focus is placed on every detail to maintain the lead. There's an interesting example when Wolff advises the organization across levels -- the marketing team, engineering, drivers -- to find your competitor and benchmark what they're doing. Then, make it a priority to beat them. Now, that's taking it to all levels.
"The biggest reason for losing is getting used to losing." - Wolff
As takeaways, I really connected with these principles to help drive winning culture. We know that people-first is the winning formula. I work to prioritize people and team in my daily work. The Debrief - even when you're winning - is an eye-opening reminder. As marketers, or across disciplines, keep prioritizing the debrief to understand the Why behind the wins! Finally, meticulous spreads throughout the organization as a winning mindset that raises the bar.
Gratitude to Professor Elberse for bringing us along on your all-access pass. We can confidently answer. Can we win with culture? Yes!
领英推荐
If you’d like to access the full case (& I 100% recommend it),?it’s available for purchase here:
Elberse, Anita, and David Moreno Vicente. "Toto Wolff and the Mercedes Formula One Team." Harvard Business School Case 522-075, February 2022.
Now, onto the SuperPower of the AI Platform tool - DataRobot
One Unified Platform for Generative and Predictive AI
The value: I found that DataRobot is the tool that tied it all together. For the first time, I could see the power of the AI models in action. I understood the statistical foundation, and dare I say some of the code, under the hood from our work, but this holistic platform took on our prediction question. We've predicted marketing mix, predictors of customer churn, sales, and even hospital readmissions. We worked on ficticious datasets to answer real-world prediction questions. Subsequently, I've used DataRobot to help deliver input for small businesses trying to deliver strong connections with customers. i.e. Where should you focus your time and marketing investment. While not an expert with this tool, as a decision maker and fellow marketer working to drive connections in the community, I think that a DataRobot preview is a strong thought starter as an input to make AI-powered data-driven decisions. I also strongly think that it matters to see under the hood and understand these AI models rapidly being deployed, and DataRobot offers transparency to help understand and see throughout the modeling process. I've included a DataRobot walkthrough below, focused on hospital readmissions. Hopefully, this will inspire you, as marketers, or decision makers, to see how DataRobot can amplify our power to predict.
Data Robot Walkthrough?
Source Credit: https://www.datarobot.com/ trial
You can explore walkthroughs and predictions in a free trial at DataRobot if interested.
Finally, here's a marketing use case..
"Defining an optimal marketing attribution is too complex for manual."
Thank you Jaime. This is much more than an interesting thought starter. It's a must read.