January 13, 2010
The speed and execution in the game of football contain great lessons for business leaders interested in winning at work. So Clinton O. Longenecker, Greg R. Papp, and Timothy C. Stansfield contend in their book The Two-Minute Drill: Lessons for Rapid Organizational Improvement from America’s Greatest Game (Jossey-Bass).
The authors explain, “Winning in football today is all about teamwork, utilizing offensive and defensive talent, and developing and executing well-designed game plans.” Likewise, teamwork is critical to executing and accelerating change and improvement in today’s businesses. They see the same two-minute drill in football enabling corporations to accelerate sales growth, implement a lean manufacturing initiative, or roll out an improved customer relationship management program. Longenecker, Papp, and Stansfield suggest you assume that you are the quarterback. As such, you are responsible for the following:
Know the score and define winning.
Ask yourself how the organization is performing and what you really want to achieve. Share that information with team members.
Develop a scouting report. Going into any change effort, it is critically important to know your talents and those supporting you, as well as potential opponents to your change plans.
Create a sense of urgency. It’s important to raise operational levels to implement a plan for rapid change.
Develop your winning two-minute drill package. Now it’s time to take ownership of the effort. Identify the people you will need and the right plays to use.
Execute the right plays. The key here is execution, write Longenecker, Papp, and Stansfield. “Manage the clock and keep the team hustling.”
Close out the game, then celebrate. Before you take bows, be sure that the score holds up. Don’t celebrate until you know you are winning.
Conduct a post-game analysis. Analyze what happened to learn from the experience.
From: Executive Matters, January 2008, AMA