The #WorldCup and Family Business

In the #WorldCup – Team USA advanced to the “knockout” round, for only the third time, (1930, 2002, and 2014). Soccer, football (or Fútbol) around the globe, is simply “The World’s Game”. Soccer continues to grow in the US. Today with over 13 million Americans playing, it is the fastest growing sport in the US. CNN reported Family Business, entrepreneurs have increased 71% since 2010, account for 54% of all U.S. sales according to sba.gov and occupy 30-50% of all commercial space — an estimated 20-34 billion square feet.

Developing a team in business or in youth soccer have some strong similarities, consider these five points. (Please switch business, company with team)

       • Support for the ownership and the vision of the company management. (In youth soccer this also includes kid’s parents.)
       • Suitable functional training and appropriate according to the plan. The level should be concentrated on the highest capabilities of the players.
       • Training that relates individual and small group techniques to team tactics. Training is not just any activity to pass along the time. Every activity that is carried out must be relevant to the team as well as individual goals.
       • You should ensure that a high degree of communication exists within the team.

A complete and correct understanding of how the business will be run to achieve the desired result which includes an understanding of various tasks and responsibilities.

Team-building is a process, not a onetime activity

Team-building is a process, not a onetime activity. Instead it conveys every aspect of the teams environment; both positively and negatively from the first practice session to the final game.

Watching the growth and success of the US Men’s team at this year’s World Cup and listening to our Coach, Jürgen Klinsmann, one could only think of the Four Functions of Leadership. The Four Functions, listed in hundreds of management books, are planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Organizational Development and Operational Improvement are key pieces in the advancement, progression and growth of a youth team or a Family Business.

Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing

Planning includes anticipating and selecting strategies, tactics. In a space with where the National Team’s players have full time responsibilities to professional teams, who pay their salaries; planning is a challenge. Determining resources, selecting players is always a challenge. In 1965, Dr. Bruce Tuckerman wrote, The Phases of Team Development.

The Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing model of group development Tuckerman suggests that these phases are all necessary and inevitable in order for the team to grow, to face up to challenges, to tackle problems, to find solutions, to plan work, and to deliver results.

Organizing includes defining the structure, in soccer the formation. Classic soccer formations include:
       • 2-3-5 Lets not talk about this arcane structure-used in 1880
       • 4-4-2 A favorite of Manchester United
       • 4-5-1- A favorite of Chelsea
       • 4-2-3-1 A favorite of the German National Team

These forms, structures permit, create opportunities for individual talents to shine. Listening to coaches, you might fear them yelling “keep your shape”. It’s the structure, the form, that creates the magic.

Family businesses need structure. Leaders of Family Businesses need to work on the business. They need to plan, organize, lead and control. Family Business Leaders should remember their teams will go through Tuckerman’s phases. Many entrepreneurs work tireless hours in their business; Jürgen Klinsmann’s lesson to Family Business owners, to youth soccer coaches, is to work on your business.