Football season is one of my favorite times of the year, and it’s inspiring to watch so many high-performing athletes in action. I respect the training and commitment it takes to achieve excellence on this level, and this provides lessons we can apply in our personal and professional lives.
Occasionally, an entire team will perform at a high level for an extended period of time, creating an elite “dynasty” in the sport. Notable dynasties include the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 70s, and the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era of the New England Patriots. Professional sports is a dynamic environment in terms of roster changes and physical limitations, so it’s understandable that dynasties eventually come to an end. But when it comes to organizational performance, are there formulas that can be followed to achieve sustained success over longer time frames?
Key Approaches for Sustained Success
I believe there are a few key approaches that are necessary and lay the groundwork for sustained success of an organization. These fall into two categories: the two biggest barriers, (practices that should be avoided), and the two biggest supporters (practices that should be encouraged) of sustained success.
Barrier #1: Complacency
Complacency can come in many forms, but from an organizational standpoint, this can often be seen in a lack of innovation and vision, and not looking toward the future. This approach involves a “resting on our laurels” stance that assumes success will just keep rolling in without action to sustain it. History is littered with examples of companies that lost their standing in the marketplace by standing still, providing opportunities for competitors to pass them by.
Barrier #2: Pride
As leaders of the organization, we must maintain our humility, realizing that our strength and wisdom are bestowed on us by God, and we’re accountable for giving glory to him for these gifts. This brings to mind the story of Moses, who successfully led the Israelites for 40 years, but at the moment he was poised to enter the Promised Land, an act of pride prevented this, because he failed to fully honor instructions from God. After so many years of being faithful, one act of pride showed he was not ready to bring himself and his followers to their reward. Scripture tells us that pride will not go unpunished. It truly can be a downfall and is therefore a barrier to success.
Supporter #1: Purpose
If an organization is not crystal clear about its purpose, or worse yet doesn’t know what its purpose is, it will struggle to be successful over the long-term. Our purpose defines why we exist as a company, so if an organization doesn’t know why they exist, eventually they’ll be stumbling over themselves. Factions of the company will start heading in different directions because they’re not all moving toward the same purpose.
When ProVia clarified our purpose, “To let our light shine before others, so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven,” it was made clear that our goal is to continually enhance peoples’ lives through the work we do and the products we make for the glory of God. This becomes a lens that we as a team look through every day as we make decisions and take actions.
Supporter #2: Consistency
Consistency refers to the rhythms and routines you develop to help protect against complacency. During his years as a professional football player, Tom Brady was well-known for his strict adherence to training and nutritional behaviors that maximized his performance. As one example at ProVia, we’ve been very intentional about our strategic planning processes. At the end of July we have our initial strategic meeting, where we start developing our strategic objectives for the following year. By October, these are finalized and communicated to our expanded leadership team, and in early January they are communicated to the rest of our leaders.
Following this specific cadence each year prevents us from becoming complacent because we know the target dates and the milestones we need to hit. I’m a big believer in consistency, but I think a lot of people might misunderstand this to mean that you don’t change. That’s not what this is about. Consistency to me is doing the great things over and over again, and turning them into habits.
As you can see, I believe there are many factors to consider on the road to sustained success. I hope the keys I’ve discussed here can provide some food for thought as you chart the course for your personal and professional journeys.
Be blessed, and be a blessing to others,
— Brian
Last Updated: November 13, 2024
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