Building Company Culture Don’t Reward High Scorers, Reward High Assists

Speaker: 00:00:11

I played high school basketball

and, one of the things I thought the

2

: 00:00:14

coach did phenomenally well was, he

rarely would reward high scorers.

3

: 00:00:20

But he'd always reward high assists.

4

: 00:00:22

And I think that's, continuing

with our sports analogy.

5

: 00:00:25

That's probably about right.

6

: 00:00:26

Everybody wants to score and needs to

score is going to score a great, good

7

: 00:00:29

for you, pat on your back, but like

the assist man, that's a tough skill

8

: 00:00:33

to cultivate, but when you cultivate

it, you become the most valuable

9

: 00:00:36

person on the team because now.

10

: 00:00:38

we've moved from football to

basketball, but you just took

11

: 00:00:40

yourself from being one entity that

can score to five entities that can

12

: 00:00:43

score, or can position for a score.

13

: 00:00:45

And if you apply that to business,

goodness, I'm thinking right now

14

: 00:00:50

about the people on my team, the

people that are good with the assist,

15

: 00:00:53

like Yvonne, my CTO started out as

my EA, he's the best on the assist.

16

: 00:00:57

I could do this right now, I would

do a thought experiment where I just

17

: 00:00:59

drop a random problem into Slack.

18

: 00:01:01

He'll be the first one like I'm on it.

19

: 00:01:02

It's not even his problem, his job,

his department, just, I'm on it.

20

: 00:01:05

Love those people.

21

: 00:01:06

Like that.

22

: 00:01:07

I do too.

23

: 00:01:07

That's the epitome of initiative.

24

: 00:01:09

For me, which is one of

our five core values.

25

: 00:01:12

if you could have a team full

of him, they're out there.

26

: 00:01:15

They really are.

27

: 00:01:16

Like, it, that's one, not in the way that

he does it exactly the way that he does.

28

: 00:01:20

Everybody does it a little bit

differently, which is, makes us all

29

: 00:01:23

interesting as humans, But the point is.

30

: 00:01:24

That's a great example of

what we're talking about here.

31

: 00:01:27

And he also knows that when he

does that, he's probably going

32

: 00:01:30

to get positively reinforced.

33

: 00:01:32

Somebody's going to say something

to him and attaboy, like we

34

: 00:01:35

have a whole channel around him.

35

: 00:01:36

I'm brutally mean to him.

36

: 00:01:37

Yeah.

37

: 00:01:37

And no compliments.

38

: 00:01:38

I just, yeah.

39

: 00:01:39

Nothing but vitriol and hatred.

40

: 00:01:41

Somebody's nice to him.

41

: 00:01:42

I know.

42

: 00:01:43

It's funny, man.

43

: 00:01:43

He's become one of my best friends.

44

: 00:01:45

it's weird how that happens.

45

: 00:01:46

It does evolve.

46

: 00:01:47

one of his other lines

is, this is another one.

47

: 00:01:49

it's in your best

interest that we succeed.

48

: 00:01:51

It's in my best interest that you succeed.

49

: 00:01:54

We actually really want the same thing.

50

: 00:01:56

And when I'm hiring folks, I say,

listen, Like if what tier 11 offers

51

: 00:02:00

you is in alignment with what you

want, if it's perfectly in alignment,

52

: 00:02:05

we have a match here because what you

want is the same thing that we want.

53

: 00:02:09

We want the same thing.

54

: 00:02:10

So we're united in that goal of getting

the company, obviously, to that next level

55

: 00:02:16

of success and success for our customers

equals helping them achieve their vision.

56

: 00:02:20

But in so doing, it helps

you achieve your professional

57

: 00:02:23

goals and your personal goals.

58

: 00:02:25

that's nirvana in the working world.

59

: 00:02:27

whenever we interview something,

like I'm the last person that does

60

: 00:02:30

the interviews and that is my line.

61

: 00:02:32

Cause I have to find out like, what

is it that just makes you tick?

62

: 00:02:35

what do you love doing?

63

: 00:02:36

What could you do all day?

64

: 00:02:37

what just lights you

up about this industry?

65

: 00:02:39

Tell me what it is.

66

: 00:02:40

And then I, what I try to do

is align that with, you can

67

: 00:02:44

take that thing that you love.

68

: 00:02:46

And if that overlaps perfectly

with what we're trying to do

69

: 00:02:49

here, this is a good match.

70

: 00:02:51

And if they have all the other five core

characteristics, ultimately that's going

71

: 00:02:55

to be a successful working relationship.

72

: 00:02:56

one of the things that, he does

say, and I'll leave you on this

73

: 00:02:59

in the second, part of this, on

confrontation is healthy is that.

74

: 00:03:03

and I've seen a lot of

documentaries on parcel.

75

: 00:03:05

I just love parcels first off.

76

: 00:03:06

He's funny, no, he's a Jersey guy,

not Massachusetts guy, I didn't

77

: 00:03:10

know that was a epic battle.

78

: 00:03:12

That was raging thing there.

79

: 00:03:13

Although I've got a lot of

friends in New Jersey actually.

80

: 00:03:15

he says one of the biggest things

when players come back to him 10 years

81

: 00:03:19

after their playing career, they say

the one thing that they remember most

82

: 00:03:23

about him is this, that one line is.

83

: 00:03:25

When he said, I think you're

better than you think you are.

84

: 00:03:28

And they say that motivated

me more than anything else.

85

: 00:03:31

And they thank him for that.

86

: 00:03:32

I think as a manager, that's

a pretty powerful statement.

87

: 00:03:36

If you don't think that about your

people, if you literally think like you're

88

: 00:03:40

lying to your people and saying that you

probably have the wrong person on the bus.

89

: 00:03:44

Isn't that interesting?

90

: 00:03:44

I guess that means that nobody

reaches their potential without some

91

: 00:03:48

motivation, some encouragement.

92

: 00:03:50

they say the best people don't need

to be led, managed, or motivated.

93

: 00:03:54

Best people need to be pushed.

94

: 00:03:56

I was gonna say, I don't

think I've ever seen that.

95

: 00:03:57

I think it's an archetypal truth, dude.

96

: 00:03:59

Luke needed Obi Wan.

97

: 00:04:00

Rocky needed that weird

old man in the corner.

98

: 00:04:03

What was his name?

99

: 00:04:03

Nick.

100

: 00:04:04

No.

101

: 00:04:04

Yeah.

102

: 00:04:04

Was that it?

103

: 00:04:05

Yeah.

104

: 00:04:05

you can't just No, yeah.

105

: 00:04:07

I think Nick is right.

106

: 00:04:08

But you couldn't have Rocky just wake up

and be like, I'm gonna get in shape now.

107

: 00:04:12

You need that just,

what would you call it?

108

: 00:04:14

It's almost paternal in nature guide.

109

: 00:04:17

Yeah.

110

: 00:04:17

You need the guide.

111

: 00:04:18

You need a guide.

112

: 00:04:19

I always just say that like when I ran

the regional sales division for fat

113

: 00:04:24

corporate 500 companies that spend

the most time with your best people.

114

: 00:04:27

I'm going to send it, spend all

the time with my worst performer.

115

: 00:04:30

So that's the worst thing you can do.

116

: 00:04:32

Like you need to figure out a way to, if

they're your worst performers, what is it?

117

: 00:04:36

Is it training issue

or is it a them issue?

118

: 00:04:38

You need to ask yourself that question,

but spend most of the time with your

119

: 00:04:41

best people because they're the ones.

120

: 00:04:44

You want to model success and

see what they're doing so that

121

: 00:04:47

you can teach others first off.

122

: 00:04:49

But secondly, they're the

ones who need a coach.

123

: 00:04:51

Like even though tiger woods isn't at

the top of golf all the time, the big

124

: 00:04:54

expression way back in the nineties

was, Hey, even tiger woods as a swing

125

: 00:04:58

coach, like even, Albert pool holes

who won eight MVPs had a hitting coach.

126

: 00:05:04

name any great performer like

Aaron Rogers has a quarterback's

127

: 00:05:08

coach, so did Tom Brady.

128

: 00:05:09

The point is everybody needs a coach

and at the higher level, it's a

129

: 00:05:13

tiny little incremental differences.

130

: 00:05:15

I have a coach, I have a business coach.

131

: 00:05:17

You have a coach, you have mentors,

and you have people that help you at a

132

: 00:05:22

higher level, get to that next level.

133

: 00:05:24

do you need it as motivation?

134

: 00:05:26

No.

135

: 00:05:27

Does it help you get to the next level

of performance when you have that

136

: 00:05:31

kind of input from an individual, and

Parcells does this extremely well?

137

: 00:05:35

Yes.

138

: 00:05:35

He was coaching probably the greatest

linebacker of all time, Lawrence

139

: 00:05:39

Taylor, was not Willie McGinnis.

140

: 00:05:41

Sorry, Patriots fans, but

Lawrence Taylor and even Lawrence

141

: 00:05:44

Taylor needed motivation.

142

: 00:05:46

And that's what Parcells did.

143

: 00:05:48

It's Oh, you got 14 sacks.

144

: 00:05:49

Oh, you missed that one.

145

: 00:05:50

the Seattle game back in October

because you did, the swim move and

146

: 00:05:54

you should have gone on the inside.

147

: 00:05:55

You went to the outside and it's

like that's how he would do it.

148

: 00:05:58

cause LT was just this

super competitive guy.

149

: 00:06:01

So yes, everybody needs it.

150

: 00:06:03

do they get it a lot of times?

151

: 00:06:05

No, but I do think that's the

difference between a high level

152

: 00:06:08

performance and a superior level of

performance when it comes to your team.

153

: 00:06:12

And when it comes to

us, a hundred percent.

154

: 00:06:14

I think it's worthy of mentioning

here because a lot of the people

155

: 00:06:16

we're talking to are, they're

not necessarily at the top.

156

: 00:06:19

I sold my agency.

157

: 00:06:20

I'm no longer at the top.

158

: 00:06:21

I'm in the middle.

159

: 00:06:21

And so what we're talking

about, me dispelling should

160

: 00:06:24

also be the thing that I expect.

161

: 00:06:25

and maybe even ask for, it's Hey,

I need some radical candor for

162

: 00:06:29

my own improvement opportunities.

163

: 00:06:30

What can I do better?

164

: 00:06:31

you're going to be entering a

new stage of your career, right?

165

: 00:06:34

like you're already starting

to lay the groundwork for that.

166

: 00:06:36

it's going to be in this space.

167

: 00:06:38

you've gotten, you've checked that

box of, Hey, I've sold my agency.

168

: 00:06:42

That's a pretty big box to check.

169

: 00:06:44

Not many people get to that point.

170

: 00:06:45

Not many people get to build

a multimillion dollar company.

171

: 00:06:49

it's like less than one half of 1 percent

get to 5 million and then 10 million.

172

: 00:06:54

It's like 0.

173

: 00:06:55

001%.

174

: 00:06:57

I forget what the percentages are.

175

: 00:06:58

It's a very small portion.

176

: 00:06:59

And then to sell it.

177

: 00:07:00

Like you're in rarefied air.

178

: 00:07:02

So what's that next step?

179

: 00:07:03

Is it going to be like a Greg Smith

is going to get you to the next

180

: 00:07:06

stage or another type of mentor?

181

: 00:07:08

I know you're part of all these groups,

but it's every stage you need somebody

182

: 00:07:11

to push you to that next level.