Always Bet on People

When we talk about the success of a product, a team or an organization, we spend a lot of time discussing what it took to achieve that success.

Strategy. Tactics. The tailwinds in the immediate environment. Competitive missteps.

And all of those points are relevant. Appropriate. Important to discuss.

But they don’t tell the real story.

At the end of the day, success really only comes down to one thing.

People.

Great, committed people get you great results. Average people deliver average results.

Notice I used the term “great, committed”.

It isn’t just about their innate talent or skill or strength. It’s about how they think about and use that talent. It’s about how committed and passionate they are for the cause.

We saw a great example of that in the British Premier League during the 2015-2016 season when Leicester City won the Premier League title – their first ever and after they were some 5,000 to 1 odds to win it.

They won not because of talent – sure, they had good players, but compared to their competition, not one of those players was considered more gifted than most of the players their competitors had.

They won because they were well organized, they were committed to the cause, they had the work ethic, and they believed.

We see this time and time again. So called 'average' folks who outpace and out do those who on paper, looked like they'd be shoe-ins. 

You need many ingredients for success. But the most critical are the people.

Always bet on people.