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In his triumphant return to Apple, Steve Jobs would deploy the same plan he had masterminded at Pixar: a combination of focus and a strategy that linked radical breakthrough with relentless forward momentum. He stripped back the product line to the very few items that he felt could be game-changers.
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Tony Jacklin was the first Ryder Cup captain to focus on adapting course conditions. Rather than create a level playing field (or a level putting green) a European Ryder Cup captain will now typically shorten the course and narrow it at certain points to frustrate the often bigger-hitting American teams.
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The SAS Iranian Embassy team knew that no matter how meticulously rehearsed a mission, the most unexpected things could go wrong: ‘no plan survives first contact with the enemy’. ‘What ifs?’ were systematically explored and operational flexibility built in so they could react to the situation as it was unfolding.
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The British Red Cross Emergency Relief Units form a ready response for the Red Cross to select from based on the immediate needs on the ground with well-trained specialist personnel and standardized equipment as well as clear protocols for action, developed from real experience at the heart of previous disasters.
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The Rolling Stones have adapted to changing circumstances and attitudes. Jim Callaghan, head of tour security, says ‘It used to be “Look at that scum”; now the band are being entertained by Vice Presidents and dignitaries. And the police: one minute they’re busting us and the next they’re escorting us.’
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Shortly after the power-sharing executive started in 2007, Jonathan Powell took a call from a civil servant, who reported Ian Paisley was feeling tired as he had been doing Scottish Irish dancing the night before with Martin McGuinness. ‘It dawned on me,’ said Powell, ‘quite how much things had changed.’
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Ross Brawn saw the need to embed a culture of continuous innovation at Ferrari. The review process, and particularly the focused follow-through, was the distinctive driver of the successful change. Ferrari implemented a disciplined process of review after testing, after every practice, after every qualifying session and after every race.
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ADAPT OR DIEMain Menu
Manage change – change management. If you want to change the way your team behaves, the most important place to start is by changing your own behaviour. Be the first to change: your actions will shape how others on the team behave; you can help the team become more supportive by being more supportive yourself.
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Change membership. One of the most powerful ways of changing your team is by changing its composition. Who you hire reinforces the attitudes embodied in those selected. When you dismiss derailing team members it removes their negative contribution from the team and sends a signal about behaviour that will not be tolerated.
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Be obsessive about improvement. The team spirit you should nurture is one of experimentation and excellence. This is an essential paradox of high performance, the need simultaneously to aim for excellence and acknowledge the importance of failure. Teams that aim to make no mistakes end up making nothing of consequence.
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Start with what’s working and what isn’t. The first step in improving your team is to determine where the team currently is. Feedback based on good data is essential to help your team face up to reality. This baseline will help you build the case for change and provide the basis for diagnosing what needs to change.
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Build the case for change. Your team will be driven by both hope and fear. Your common purpose should provide an inexorable pull and will motivate the team to change for the better. Drawing out the fear and loathing that resides in crisis, failures and losing to competitors can also motivate your team into action.
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Don’t play the blame game. Whenever you conduct a robust and rigorous review you need to guard against your team playing the blame game. Fear of being blamed and shamed in front of their colleagues can force team members to hide problems – untreated, these can often come back bigger and with much more damaging consequences.
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Design the future together. The most powerful source of developing and executing new ideas and approaches for improving your team is . . . your team. Involving them ensures any change is not just theoretical but practicable. Getting your team to generate ideas also increases its ownership of the changes.
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Focus on the few vital areas of collaboration. Identify areas of teamwork with the greatest potential for change and choreograph how the team will now interact, reshaping role clarity with a scalpel rather than an axe. Aim for a series of targeted improvements, the effects of which can be isolated and measured, minimizing the scope for collateral damage.
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Teams learn best by doing things together. Your team needs to rehearse the revised approach, again and again, until it becomes second nature. The fastest way of getting your team to adopt a new way of behaving is for them to experience directly the real benefits of the changed approach.
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Excellence is a habit. Weave new behaviours into the fabric of the team by recognizing them through rewards and crafting team stories that celebrate collective achievements. Over time and through repeated rehearsal and success, the shared approach will become a habit, a part of the team culture, ‘the way we do things around here’.
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Your team will be driven by both hope and fear. Your common purpose should provide an inexorable pull and motivate the team to change for the better. Drawing out the fear and loathing that resides in crises, failures and losing to competitors can also directly motivate your team into action. > Forge common purpose

If you are looking to change the way your team behaves, start by changing your own behaviour. Team leaders are role models and set the tone through actions more than words. Too much stress is placed on communication campaigns, posters and long speeches when actually management itself is the message.
> Lead the team

Teams going from zeroes to heroes need to do more than spend money. They must change critical team members, review their approach to collaboration and embed the change into a new team culture. Team conscientiousness is what separates individual champions from those who can be part of a winning team.
> Pursue a quest for the best

A team is only as strong as the weakest of its components. The key to a winning team and successful team environment is that each component or member of the team is great in their own way and also amplifies the performance of the other parts, enabling greatness around them. > Shape the environment for success

Team conscientiousness separates individual champions from those who can be part of a winning team. The critical difference is that they have learned a fundamental truth; that teamwork is essential to their own success, that they cannot win unless the team does. > Build cohesion

Napoleon Bonaparte warned that ‘the people to fear are not those who disagree with you, but those who disagree with you and are too cowardly to let you know’. Design review sessions so hierarchy does not stem the flow of feedback, with everyone actively involved, ensuring a breadth of perspectives. > Master Conflict

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NAVIGATION
About Khoi Tu
Blog
Contact

Insight
Forge Common Purpose
Lead the Team
Pursue a Quest for the Best
Shape the Environment for Success
Build Cohesion
Master Conflict
Adapt or Die

Inspiration
Pixar
Ryder Cup
SAS
British Red Cross
Rolling Stones
Northern Ireland Peace Process
Ferrari Formula One

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WHAT PEOPLE SAY
‘Products, companies and organisations that
are brilliant, fun and deliver on their promise
often look super, super simple to the outside
world, but the detail and speed happening
behind the scenes is frighteningly fast. To
achieve this, let alone keep it going, requires
the right team and leadership, and a little bit
of magic based around good, solid
relationships and people skills.
We all work hard to get it right, even people
that are good at it, and nothing good lasts
forever so we need to keep on our toes!
For me, this is what this book is all about
– it shows what humans can do in different
scenarios, especially when the going gets
tough and there's a goal to be achieved.
Nice one Khoi.’
Jamie Oliver, Chef, Entrepreneur, Activist

‘Khoi Tu is the most visionary among
visionaries.’
Management Today

‘Khoi Tu has an inspirational mind, full of
curiosity, and a strong desire to find solutions
for issues that can seem to be unsolvable.’
‘Sir Jackie Stewart, three-time World Drivers’ Champion

‘This is a fantastic book. Do you want to
supercharge your team? Then ‘superteams’
will help you do just that and more. It is
creative, inspirational, and filled with
practical insights into what the most
successful teams do to reach such high
achievement. Reading it brings the
excitement of being part of the teams. WOW!
This book is destined to be a classic.’
George Kohlrieser, Professor of Leadership
at IMD.

‘Insightful… this book will be an essential in
any managers’ toolkit.’
Sir Nicholas Young, CEO of British Red Cross

‘Demystifies and choreographs what’s needed
to create high performance teams. Anybody
interested in teambuilding and teamwork
should have a serious look at this book.’
Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, INSEAD Global Leadership Centre

IN THE MEDIA