How To Build A Team In Business And In Sports

I am in my office staring at a game ball with my name stamped on it, yet it’s not from any game that I played. It also has inscribed on it the signatures of some incredible people and they are not multi-million dollar NFL stars. Yet as I gaze at this ball, it brings tears to my eyes. It is a very special gift.
In my travels throughout the world, I have been honored to speak to incredible groups of people. Brilliant aspiring entrepreneurs. Tenacious corporate leaders with vision. Front line warriors waving the flag of inspiring missions. But in all my years I have to tell you that the most moving experience I had was on a cool autumn day in a crowded, sweaty team meeting room of the West Jordan High School football team. The ball is from them.
This group of young men under the leadership of their coach had all read my “ABC’s of Building a Business Team that Wins” book through their summer weight training. They then decided to create a Code of Honor for their team as prescribed in the book.
The results were amazing. They started off the season by upsetting one of the top-seated teams in the state and ultimately went on to make it to the state semi-finals for the first time in the history of the school.
Fortunately my travels brought me to their city in the middle of their season. Upon arrival, a friend told me about this team and their encounter with my book and asked if would take the time to speak to them. Of course!!!!
That afternoon moved me deeply. I asked the players what the biggest lesson was that they had learned from the Code and the team. The answer was so simple that you could have heard a pin drop when it was said that afternoon. They said that their biggest lesson was simply “being there for each other…always knowing that your team-mate was at your side.”
Amidst all the distractions, all the hormones and all of the craziness of teenager-hood these boys were becoming men. The intensity of their eyes, the openness of their hearts and the way they listened to everything I said, told me that these young men were more than high school football players. They were among the future leaders of our communities, our country and our world. They would have families, sons and daughters themselves someday and will have impact beyond their touch.
I don’t even quite remember what I said to them that day because I was so impacted by what they said to me and the questions they asked. But in a letter I sent to them before their next game, I sent them this message. This message is for you as well particularly as we approach this Holiday Season.
“In a person's life they have windows of opportunity to make a real difference in their own lives and in the lives of others. The difference that is made is not the stuff of headlines, news clippings or fanfares. It is about being there for someone else. It is about making a statement through your actions that speak louder than words.
It is about demonstrating fearlessness and courage and owning whatever comes your way with the congruence that you acted with all of your heart and all of your might. It’s about truly being yourself without worrying about what others think and inspiring someone else to be the best that they can be. It’s about trusting someone else unconditionally and having them trust you the same way. You all have been a model to thousands of folks, old and young, that you will never meet face to face. You have made a statement about your generation and have set a standard of honor and ‘team’ that few have experienced. Never doubt the power of your intention, your heart and the team.
As a facilitator of personal and organizational change, a trainer and a dynamic public speaker, what differentiates Blair Singer are instantaneous and sustainable results. His approach is one of high energy, intense and precise personal development and inspiration. His high impact approach and unique ability to get entire groups of people and organizations to change behaviors quickly, results in peak performance levels of achievement in extremely short periods of time.