09/03/2024
From Clint:
An interesting thing happened while working with the headshed of an awesome company last week. I won't say their name, but it rhymes with the Olsta Companies. Keep that between us.
When unpacking the PursuitPoint Tribalism, I kept falling short of what I was trying to communicate. That's no bueno. Especially since being Tribal is perhaps the greatest reason for any sustained success I've had on ANY of the maps that matter most to me. The owner of the company, whose name (allegedly) rhymes with John asked a couple of thoughtful questions and the tumblers fell into place. The key question was, "how do we make sure we're not just a Team?"
Problem: I've inadvertently marginalized the significance and beauty of the word "Team" at times over the years. I don't want to do that. The Team is the beginning of the magic. It is where all great stories begin.
BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front): Being Tribal is like being Elite. It's as much a gravitational pull keeping us honest, engaged, and driven as it is an actual attainable place on maps that matter to us. We need an outside agent - a circumstance, competition, adversary, enemy - to ascend into an elite version of ourselves. To have our Team prove itself a Tribe. We must be Excellent to become Elite. We must be a Team to become a Tribe. The Bible says "a cord of three strands is not soon broken." The strands make the Team. The strain is what makes us a Tribe.
Additional thoughts (until I exceed the Linkedin character limit ... which I didn't know existed until posting this):
I've struggled with two things over the years when giving PursuingElite. I feel like I've indirectly vilified two words:
(1) The word "Done" when talking about the difference between being Excellent or being Elite.
(2) The word "Team" when describing the names I use to describe gatherings of people: Gaggle, Group, Team, or Tribe.
//Done// "OnReloading" was was written to help folks know I'm not advocating a reckless relentlessness in the pursuit of achievement. It distills everything I learned about doing hard things for a long time from incredible BallField Coaches and BattleField Leaders. "OnReloading" was born from an awesome question asked by a great BoardRoom Leader.
"If the difference between being excellent and being elite is reloading instead of relaxing - how do we do that over time? How do we stay 'Not Done Yet' ... "
Part of "reloading when other relax"/"staying restless when competition rests" is ironically knowing we HAVE to rest. The 4 steps to Reload: Review, Rest, Recover, Revel. When we do those intentionally and methodically we find ourselves reloaded and ready.
//Team// Ecclesiastes 4:12 "a cord of 3 strands is not soon broken." This is the verse that popped into my head when John asked his question. The Team is like a cord. The 3 strands are: (1) me/you, (2) my/your teammates, and (3) our/your mission. The strands make us a Team, only the strain can reveal we are a Tribe.
