Steeler Nation

I love the Pittsburgh Steelers, they are my favorite football team. However, the 2006 Superbowl Champions were special. They were so talented but their bond made them a great team. You could tell their was love and respect for one another on and off the field.

A team is a group of people that come together to achieve a common goal. It's not easy building a team. I mean, it's not easy working with people in general with different personalities and work ethics.

One advantage of being an entrepreneur is having the power to build your own championship team. When building a team, there are a few things I like to keep in mind:

1. Birds of a feather flock together

2. There is a vision to focus on

3. Position everyone to win

Back to football, a coach recruits his team based on the talents he needs to be successful. They need a certain set of skills and the ability to work well together. Similar work ethic, determination, and perseverance should exist for increased chances of success. You don't want 4 quarter backs, 5 runningbacks or 90% offensive players because that is clearly not going to be a successful team. A successful team is based on individual talents coming together and accomplishing a goal. Am I making sense?

Case in point, Antonio Brown was an excellent football player, he had speed, aggression, power and personality on the field. He was very entertaining to watch. However, he wasn't a great teammate. He didn't respect the organization, coach or team in my opinion. To me, he felt like he was the biggest asset and wanted things to go his way. So sad because there really is no I in team and it's the team that makes it to the Superbowl not individual players. He had all the talent to do his job but did not do so good a job at being on a team.

Entrepreneurs have the difficult task of building a team but can reap such a great reward when done correctly. We have to observe and get to know a person's personality with regard to their talent. Gotta ask myself questions like, do they share the same values and believe in the vision? Will there be loyalty if/when there is a losing season?

Another scenario would be working on a job. You are normally hired on a job based on a combination of education and experience. Hard to learn a person's personality on a 30 minute interview. So you end up working with people you might not get along with after a few weeks on the job. The owner doesn't really think about how you will get along, they simply hire people to run the business. With a small business, education isn't so much a prerequisite as much as work ethic is. Unlike a job, everyone on a small business team should share the victory. I mean most jobs really are paying Just Over Broke salaries or rates. The head is paid significantly more than the workers. You can be happy for your employer but the reward is not the same. Your teammates should be given opportunities to win on the same level. Hope I'm making sense.

On a team, friendly competition is accepted and expected but there's no room for egos, power trips, attitudes and jealously. Which all can easily happen when a player takes their eye off the prize and starts to focus on what everyone could or should be doing. That's a job for the coach or team captain if it applies.

In football, the quarterback calls the shots on the field. He helps build a rapport amongst the players and keeps the energy positive. It is his job to know every player's position, skill set, strengths and weaknesses.

Entrepreneurs have the task of recruiting a Superbowl winning team that will help build their foundation and/or get the business on track. These are the people you will build so their strengths should compliment your weaknesses without betrayal and conflict. They should respect the vision and play their part so the team can achieve success. If you are an entrepreneur or thinking about running your own business, spend the necessary time and choose wisely to position everyone on your team to win. This is of course figurative but you have to make sure you build with bricks and not sticks. Ya dig me!?!