It's about the business of winning - using lessons from sports to win in the corporate race. The second book with the same title. Anita and Harsha conduct corporate programs called 'The Winning Way' and have done over 500 such. This book brings in more insights from corporate leaders.
The book deals with the business of winning which is about getting good talent and retaining them by winning which they call the winning cycle. If the team loses, talent leaves, so its necessary to win. Interestingly they touch upon the fear of winning as a factor - I would think even more than fear of losing. The chapter on goals talks of how goals should be out of reach but not out of sight, about performance gaols and result goals and how setting up a goal is as important as scoring a goal.
They discuss the winning triangle of ability, attitude and passion - in that order. Talent alone does not cut it. One needs both resources and resourcefulness to get the best out of the team. One needs to win in all conditions to be a champion. The Burden of winning is discussed, and what goes on behind the scoreboard is discussed. People need to stay relevant, upgrade, else they will fall for the 'third-year syndrome' which many international cricketers do. Winning has its own side effects and the authors quote from Pat Riley's 7 dangers signals of a winning team losing it. In fact, some skippers say that a healthy paranoia is necessary to keep winning teams on its toes - much like Andrew Grove said in his book 'Only the paranoid survive'. One has to manage success to achieve longevity or greatness.
The subject of learning while losing is addressed on how one can learn from failures, the symptoms of losing teams and how to turn them around. One should be aware of the crab mentality and not get dragged down by past failure. Change is dealt with and it is best headed by maverick ambassadors who turn the thing on its head. A positive intolerance to change the status quo must be built into the culture. When trying to innovate it is best to spend a lot of time in defining the problem first, then trying to find solutions. Once again, it is best that mavericks introduce change.
Tam building is all about talent, team climate and common pride. one must instill all these with a team ethic of interdependence. One must be aware that stars can make or break teams so one must be aware of building a climate that holds teams together. As Rahul Dravid is quoted - we must know who is adding to the pot and who is taking away.
While on leadership understanding players is most important - as individuals who are subject to team priorities. Leaders must have a vision, build trust, back team and take them to places they have never been to before. It helps if the leader is positive, unflappable and oozes confidence in all circumstances.
That's a lot of lessons. For the perceptive, quite useful and a good reminder. The content is absolutely bang on. However, the constant shift between the concept and the cricketing or sporting example breaks the flow a bit - perhaps because of the change in context. Lots of wisdom from the business gurus. Each of the chapters, however, can be dealt with as a separate book and that I think is what Harsha and Anita should do next - pick the magic elements and write in-depth about them. The resources at their hand are phenomenal.
The book deals with the business of winning which is about getting good talent and retaining them by winning which they call the winning cycle. If the team loses, talent leaves, so its necessary to win. Interestingly they touch upon the fear of winning as a factor - I would think even more than fear of losing. The chapter on goals talks of how goals should be out of reach but not out of sight, about performance gaols and result goals and how setting up a goal is as important as scoring a goal.
They discuss the winning triangle of ability, attitude and passion - in that order. Talent alone does not cut it. One needs both resources and resourcefulness to get the best out of the team. One needs to win in all conditions to be a champion. The Burden of winning is discussed, and what goes on behind the scoreboard is discussed. People need to stay relevant, upgrade, else they will fall for the 'third-year syndrome' which many international cricketers do. Winning has its own side effects and the authors quote from Pat Riley's 7 dangers signals of a winning team losing it. In fact, some skippers say that a healthy paranoia is necessary to keep winning teams on its toes - much like Andrew Grove said in his book 'Only the paranoid survive'. One has to manage success to achieve longevity or greatness.
The subject of learning while losing is addressed on how one can learn from failures, the symptoms of losing teams and how to turn them around. One should be aware of the crab mentality and not get dragged down by past failure. Change is dealt with and it is best headed by maverick ambassadors who turn the thing on its head. A positive intolerance to change the status quo must be built into the culture. When trying to innovate it is best to spend a lot of time in defining the problem first, then trying to find solutions. Once again, it is best that mavericks introduce change.
Tam building is all about talent, team climate and common pride. one must instill all these with a team ethic of interdependence. One must be aware that stars can make or break teams so one must be aware of building a climate that holds teams together. As Rahul Dravid is quoted - we must know who is adding to the pot and who is taking away.
While on leadership understanding players is most important - as individuals who are subject to team priorities. Leaders must have a vision, build trust, back team and take them to places they have never been to before. It helps if the leader is positive, unflappable and oozes confidence in all circumstances.
That's a lot of lessons. For the perceptive, quite useful and a good reminder. The content is absolutely bang on. However, the constant shift between the concept and the cricketing or sporting example breaks the flow a bit - perhaps because of the change in context. Lots of wisdom from the business gurus. Each of the chapters, however, can be dealt with as a separate book and that I think is what Harsha and Anita should do next - pick the magic elements and write in-depth about them. The resources at their hand are phenomenal.
1 comment:
Thanks for a nice summary Hari
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