The Mission: "The Best of the Best"

The goal is to be the very best. It's the goal of every business that actually becomes one of the best of the best. But few do because, as Jim Collins writes in Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Other's Don't, it takes leadership with more than a vision of becoming extraordinary. It takes "Best of the Best" motivation, a best of the best mindset, and methods that create great teams and organizations.

But most of all, it takes leaders passionate about success and winning. Leaders who will "burn the mills" if that's what is needed. When I read that in Good to Great, it gave the book credibility because that type of commitment is exactly what is sometimes required if you want to be the best.

"Do-It-Right" is the goal of every Level 5 Leader. Leaders who make decisions based on the "good of the team," the employees, and the organization. Leaders who are in it to win it, but want everyone else to win as well.

In a sales or customer service team, this type of leadership is rare. The reason is simply that they don't know how to become the best of the best. They have never seen it done or been taught how to do it. And even if they had, not everyone will rise to the occasion and go for it.

The experts on team achievement-professional baseball, football, basketball-know that to win it all in team sports requires motivation, mindsets, methods and a mission to accomplish the goal.
But it also requires something few leaders know how to do in sports or business. To be the best requires extraordinary team chemistry. In business and the military it's called esprit d'corps and it is the key ingredient to becoming a truly extraordinary team.

Anyone can do it, but it starts with a positive answer to "If you knew how to do it, would you want to create and lead a team focused on becoming the best of the best?"

I hope so. It's a lot more fun than just going through motions, day after day, one by one.