The best team in the world

Best in the world is all about context - time, place and domain.

Here’s a question for you to consider:

Who or what is the best team in the world?

Which team did you nominate? Was it a sporting team, a business team, a medical team, a musical band or orchestra? Perhaps you thought of a scientific research team or an elite military squad. Whichever team you decided upon, it is almost impossible to have got that question right - or wrong! Teams exist in many settings across the world, and being the best in the world depends significantly on what is required of the team.

For decades, the New Zealand All Blacks have been revered as a benchmark for sporting teams around the world and held up as an example of what teams could and should be like. That was only ever true in context. They were the best rugby team at that time. I wouldn’t want that team performing surgery on me or my family in the same way that I wouldn’t want a leading surgical team taking on international rugby teams. I also wouldn’t want the New Zealand Rugby team of 2015 to take in the New Zealand Rugby Team of 2035. When the context shifts so significantly (from international rugby to surgery or over two decades), it is easy to appreciate that the context that a team operates in is important and influential.  

What is less obvious is that even with subtle changes in time, location, and the setting of the team what defines world class performance changes.

In Seth Godin’s short book, “The Dip”, he explores the idea of being the best in the world and why we all need to aim for that. Godin is principally a marketer (although his wisdom touches many other domains) and so the book talks about being the best in the world from a market’s viewpoint. Very specifically, he talks about what he means by “best” and perhaps more importantly what is meant by “the world”:

“Best as in: best for them, right now, based on what they believe and what they know
The world as in: their world, the world they have access to”

It’s not feasible for any individual or team to have the most impact in all circumstances, settings, and situations. What we want is our teams to be the best in the time and place that we find ourselves - in context.

Some questions for you and your teams to consider this week

       1. What is the world that your team has access to?
       2. How can your team be the best in that world?