Success - The Secret Ingredient

By Greg Leibman May 29, 2012

It was the 2001 US Grand Prix. I had been to many Formula 1 events and exposed to the inside circle of F1 since age 12.  For this race, I had the good fortune of being a guest of Ferrari during the height of Michael Schumacher and Ross Braun’s domination as arguably the greatest driver and technical director combination of all time.   Ferrari was the team to beat.

Many of the F1 teams have the resources and training to succeed, and yet only a few are able to be on top and can remain on top for so long.  Ferrari wasn’t always on top.  What is the other ‘x’ factor that gave Ferrari the extra edge?

I discovered the secret ingredient during that Grand Prix weekend.

My friend and I were invited to meet with the engineers, mechanics, drivers, and media.  It was incredible to see the efficiency of the team in action.  Everybody had a job to do and they were done with precision.

F1 teams claw for every one-tenth of a second.  Lap times and winning races are the ultimate measure of team success, and much effort goes into each lap.   An engineer described an expensive engine program to me.  It did not produce a more powerful engine, but instead shaved 2 kilos of its weight. This freed up ‘ballast’, which could be optimally applied to areas of the car depending on the track, to enhance mechanical grip and to claw at more of those one-tenths of a second.  Every component of the car is engineered to exact maximum performance, but in conjunction with all the other components: Aerodynamics, power train, suspension, tires, software and electronics all must work in harmony.  The testing that goes on to ensure that is incredible.  Wind tunnels are built not only to simulate the effects of wind blowing over the car (with enough down force that at over 100 mph the car could literally drive on a ceiling), but also the aerodynamics between the road and the car using a rolling conveyor belt that can move at over 200mph underneath the car!

Ferrari won both the Constructors and Drivers Championship that year, with Michael Schumacher achieving nine wins and five second places out of 17 races. It’s easy to imagine that having all these resources is what ultimately produces an advantage ahead of the competition. But all the teams understand these principles and many have tremendous resources.

What stood out for me that weekend was a conversation our waiter — he was probably one of the best waiters / hosts I ever saw.   During the race there was no hiding his passion, and his knowledge about all the inner workings of the team was extensive. He did not work for Ferrari; he was part of the team.  He felt his work there was on equal footing with the mechanics, the drivers, the engineers and felt just as proud when his team won pole, won a race, or won a championship.  Ferrari, through its passion and approach to building the team, ensured that everyone could draw a straight line from their responsibilities to overall team performance.

This waiter understood that by keeping us happy, there would be enough intangible benefit to the decision makers at Phillip Morris to provide extra resources. This translated to more investments in the drivers, top engineers, rolling wind tunnels, and lighter engines to earn those extra one-tenths of a second.  He knew that his skill was the bottom line enabler of performance, yet when the team won, felt as proud as any other team member.  Ferrari instilled a culture of ownership for everyone. By adopting that level of company-wide engagement, and assuring that everyone in the team bought into that premise, Ferrari was able to extract the maximum from every team member, and translate that to success on the track.

The Sales Team Mindset – The Secret Ingredient for Success

Success does not solely stem from state-of-the-art engineering (technology), top talent, flawless processes, or even data—this is merely the foundation. Success is enabling everyone in the your organization and sales team or to draw a straight line, connecting their efforts to the overall victory of the team.

Go ahead and update that field in your CRM to let your team know you have a new lead. Do it because you know that you’re participating on a team; when one sales rep wins, everyone does.  Companies can provide top tools and ‘enforce’ usage, but must make the vision clear to their sales teams why participating and doing their part will ultimately lead to success for all.  Let them feel those extra one-tenths of a second.

How are you building and maintain team culture at your organization? Please share your thoughts below.

Related:

• [Whitepaper] ‘Smart Sales Reps’ Win in the Age of Information Overload: Six Steps to Sales Effectiveness
• Jerry Maguire Didn’t Sell Smart – Forbes article by Christine Crandell
• Predicting Victory: Using Big Data in Sports and B2B Sales