The Red Sox and Patriots lost this Sunday, Why? It’s not what you think and it applies to your business.

I have been listening to the chatter for two days now, how Pappelbom blew it giving up 4 runs in three outs. How Brady fumbled in the last two minutes giving up the ball and the win…but it isn’t so, these may have been the last mistakes made in either game, but the reason the Red Sox and the Patriots lost was because the team failed not because these individual players failed. Not so.

In the Red Sox series against the Angels including the last game, Big Pappi went 1-10. The team batted atrociously and no team can win without any hitting and scoring. The team lost because each player did not perform his job well, not because one player failed at one moment.

In the Patriots game, there was an obvious opportunity for a missed field goal, a toss to Moss in the end zone when he was uncovered but the toss was high. If you look close, there were many blown plays, missed blocks, missed patterns run, the Pats looked like a team not ready to play that day so of course they got beaten, they were outplayed.

So is it the one play that was visible? Was it one player who failed to perform as expected….certainly these issues supported defeat but the question remains was it their fault?

A resounding NO.

Of course it is a team responsibility, even the coaches were responsible for not having their teams ready in peak form, capable of delivering their best, as had either team done this, the Red Sox or the Patriots, and they would have been victorious.

How does this apply to your business?…Simple, it’s not just about the star salesperson bringing in the large order, or the boss making the right decision at a critical moment, it is about the entire team pulling in the same direction at the same time and if each team member does his best the team will win, gain ground, improve profit, and everyone will reap the benefits.

Let’s stop looking for scapegoats as easy as that may be, as owners let’s stop looking for the easy win, depending upon our best hitter to hit the home run. Let’s recognize that it is always a team effort and victory is always a function of each player doing his job as best as he can, and thus the win occur. Under such circumstances, great players can and will do more, better decisions are made and yes under these circumstances we will see some home runs… Good team work supports outstanding individual performances… Outstanding individual performances without a solid team effort are not as successful. We are only as strong as our weakest link, how many times have we heard this…it remains true. Teams win. Winning teams win more….figure it out.

It’s team success that we look for, not individual stats.