THE PRICE MUST BE PAID BY EVERYONE

In Straight Talk for Monday Morning, Allan Cox observed, "You have to give up something to be a member of a team. It may be a phony role you've assigned to yourself, such as the guy who talks too much, the woman who remains silent, the know-it-all, the know nothing, the hoarder of talented subordinates, the non-sharer of some resource such as management information systems (MIS), or whatever. You give up something, to be sure, such as some petty corner of privilege, but you gain authenticity in return. The team, moreover, doesn't quash individual accomplishment; rather it empowers personal contributions." People who've never had the experience of being on a winning team often fail to realize that every team member must pay a price. I think some of them think that if others work hard, they can coast to their potential. But that is never true. If everyone doesn't pay the price to win, then everyone will pay the price by losing.

2. The Price Must Be Paid All the Time

Many people have what I call "destination disease." Some people mistakenly believe that if they can accomplish a particular goal, they no longer have to grow. It can happen with almost anything: earning a degree, reaching a desired position, receiving a particular award, or achieving a financial goal. But effective leaders cannot afford to think that way. The day they stop growing is the day they forfeit their potential—and the potential of their organization. Remember the words of Ray Kroc: "As long as you're green, you're growing. As soon as you're ripe, you start to rot."Destination disease is as dangerous for a team as it is for any individual. It makes us believe that we can stop working, stop striving, stop paying the price—yet still reach our potential. But as Earl Blaik, former football coach at the United States Military Academy, observed, "There is no substitute

for work. It is the price of success." That truth never goes away. That's why President Dwight D. Eisenhower remarked, "There are no victories at bargain prices." If you want to reach your potential, you can never let up.

The Price Increases If the Team Wants to Improve, Change, or Keep Whining. Have you ever noticed how few back-to-back champions there are in sports? Or how few companies stay at the top of Forbes magazine's lists for a decade? Becoming a champion has a high price. But remaining on top costs even more. And improving upon your best is even more costly. The higher you are, the more you have to pay to make even small improvements. World-champion sprinters improve their times not by seconds, but by hundredths of a second. No one can move closer to his or her potential without paying in some way to get there. If you want to change professions, you have to get more education, additional work experience, or both. If you want to run a race at a faster pace, you must pay by training harder and smarter. If you want to increase earnings from your investments, you either put in more money or take greater risks. The same principle applies to teams. To improve, change, or keep winning, as a group the team must pay a price, and so must the individuals on it.

4. The Price Never Decreases

Most people who quit don't give up at the bottom of the mountain, they stop halfway up it. Nobody sets out with the purpose of losing. The problem is often a mistaken belief that a time will come when success will suddenly get cheaper. But life rarely works that way. When it comes to the Law of the Price Tag, I believe there are really only two kinds of teams who violate it: those who don't realize the price of success, and those who know the price but are not willing to pay it. No one can force a team member to have the will to succeed. Each member must decide in his or her own heart whether the goal is worth the price that must be paid. But every person ought to know what to expect to pay in order for a team to succeed. For that reason, I offer the following observations about the cost of being part of a winning team. To become team players, you and your teammates will have at least the following required of you .. .

• Sacrifice: There can be no success without sacrifice. James Allen observed, "He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much." When you become part of a team, you may be aware of some of the things you will have to give up. But you can be sure that no matter how much you expect to give for the team, at some point you will be required to give more. That's the nature of teamwork. The team gets to the top only through the sweat, blood, and sacrifice of its team members Time Commitment: Teamwork does not come cheaply. It costs you time—that means you pay for it with your life. It takes time to get to know people, to build relationships with them, to learn how you and they work together.

• Personal Development: The only way your team will reach its potential is if you reach your potential. That means today's ability is not enough. Or, to put it the way leadership expert Max DePree did: "We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are." That desire to keep striving, to keep getting better, is a key to your own ability, but it is also crucial for the betterment of the team. That is why UCLA's John Wooden, a great team leader and the greatest college basketball coach of all time, said, "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."

• Unselfishness: People naturally look out for themselves. The question "What's in it for me?" is never far from their thoughts. But if a team is to reach its potential, its players must put the team's agenda ahead of their own. And if you give your best to the team, it will return more to you than you give, and together you will achieve more than you can on your own. Certainly there are other prices individuals must pay to be part of a team. You can probably list several specific ones you've paid to be on a team. The point is that people can choose to stand on the sidelines of life and try to do everything solo. Or they can get into the game by being part of a team. It's a trade-off between independence and interdependence. The rewards of teamwork can be great, but there is always a cost. You always have to give up to go up

THE SCOREBOARD

Every "game" has its own rules

and its own definition of what it means to win. Some teams measure their success in points scored, others in profits. Still others may look at the number of people they serve. But no matter what the game is, there is always a scoreboard. And if a team is to accomplish its goals, it has to know where it stands. It has to look at itself in light of the scoreboard. Why is that so important? Because teams that succeed make adjustments in order to continually improve themselves and their situations.

For example, look at how a football team approaches a game. Before the competition starts, the team spends a tremendous amount of time planning. Players study hours of game film. They spend days figuring out what their opponent is likely to do, and decide the best way to win. They come up with a detailed game plan. As the game begins, the game plan is very important and the scoreboard means nothing. But as the game goes on, the game plan means less and less, and the scoreboard becomes more and more important. Why? Because the game is constantly changing. You see, the game plan tells you what you want to happen. But the scoreboard tells what is happening. No team can ignore the reality of its situation and win.

For any kind of team, the scoreboard is essential in the following ways:

1. The Scoreboard Is Essential to Understanding In sports, players, coaches, and fans understand the importance of the scoreboard. That's why it is so visible at every stadium, arena, and ball field. The scoreboard provides a snapshot of the game at any given time. Even if you arrive at a game halfway into it, you can look at the scoreboard and assess the situation. I' m often surprised by how many people outside sports try to succeed without a scoreboard. Some families operate their households without budgets, yet wonder why they are in debt. Some small business owners go year after year without tracking sales or creating a balance sheet, and wonder why they can't grow the business. Some pastors busy themselves with worthy activities, but never stop to measure whether they are reaching people or performing according to biblical standards.

2. The Scoreboard Is Essential to Evaluating

I believe that personal growth is one of the keys to success. That's why I've taught lessons on growth at conferences and in books for more than twenty years. One of the key principles I teach is this: Growth = Change. I know this sounds overly simple, but people sometimes lose sight of the fact that they cannot grow and remain the same at the same time. Most people are in a position that can be described by something coach Lou Holtz once said: "We aren't where we want to be; we aren't where we ought to be; but thank goodness we aren't where we used to be." But when it comes to growth, change alone is not enough. If you want to become better, you have to change in the right direction. You can do that only if you are able to evaluate yourself and your teammates. That is another reason for the scoreboard. It gives you continual feedback. Competing without a scoreboard is like bowling without pins. You may be working hard, but you don't really know how you're doing.

3. The Scoreboard Is Essential to Decision Making

Once you've evaluated your situation, you're ready to make decisions. In football, the quarterback uses information from the score board to decide which play to call. In baseball, the scoreboard helps the manager know when to bring in a relief pitcher. In basketball, it can be used to determine whether to call a time-out. That was the case at Disney. First, Eisner looked at the company to understand its overall position. Then he evaluated individual areas for their effectiveness. Only then was he able to make good decisions concerning how to get Disney back into the game.

4. The Scoreboard Is Essential to Adjusting

The higher the level you and your team are competing on, the smaller the adjustments required to achieve your best. But making key adjustments is the secret to winning, and the scoreboard helps you to see where those adjustments need to be made.

5. The Scoreboard Is Essential to Winning . In the end, nobody can win without the scoreboard. How do you know when the game is on the line without a scoreboard? How do you know when time is running out unless you check the scoreboard? How will you know if it's cruise time or crunch time unless you have the scoreboard as a measuring device? If your desire is to take a leisurely drive with some friends, then you don't need to worry about a thing. But if you're trying to win the Indy 500, then you and your team must know how you're doing! Some organizations see the scoreboard as a necessary evil. Others try to ignore it—something they cannot do for long and still do well in their profession. And some organizations make checking the scoreboard such an important part of their culture that they are continually able to recognize and seize opportunities that lead to huge successes.