The value of ‘sweep the sheds’ might seem a small detail when it comes to defining a culture, but it speaks to the importance of no player being bigger than the jersey.
“While the country is still watching replays and schoolkids lie in bed dreaming of All Blacks’ glory, the All Blacks themselves are tidying up after themselves”
It is a defining expression of how the All Blacks focus on removing vanity and ego from their team, most vividly framed in their ‘no dickheads’ maxim. As they say, ‘better people make better All Blacks’.
Humility also is an access point to questioning everything that has come before. Humility says none of us have all the answers, we all have the right to question ‘can we be better?’
What other examples have you witnessed of firms (or teams) challenging humility in this way?
Having listened to the podcast now, I have a new best takeaway -" a championship team beats a team full of champions". I think the revelation that the book was written as "mission creep" from another book project may be why it didn't have much new in it. I loved what he said in the podcast about "you write what you don't already know" although I don't believe that this was the case here. But it's a nice idea nonetheless.
I dragged myself through the Audible book on a long journey to pick up my son from camp.
The repeated clichés and awful accents were hard work and made me think there was little new. It wasn't clear what he was summarising was what he'd learnt the All Black use or just general culture twaddle he'd felt like summarising. Maybe it would have worked on paper, but in audio it was tedious.
Should have waiting for your summary, suspect what you've said above is enough. Just love the sweeping story. Says so much about culture. Think with such a strong begining the book should have just ended there.
Did you know that the paper he quotes on Integrity is from the Est / Landmark school (remember the cult I tried to enrol you - Bruce- in in the 90's?). That definition of Integrity is very interesting. Not a question of judgment, but a question of "workability". If you haven't read it, it's worth looking at. I'd value your view.
Re humility, an Asda manager I trained years back told a story of meeting Sam Walton ambushing him back of store when he was doing a work experience stint in the US at Walmart. Apparently he'd joined the delivery crew, unloaded the vans and then walked around chatting to staff getting a pulse. He did it regularly apparently. I had a trainer mentor who would clean the rooms we used in hotels / conference facilities in the same way as the staff before handing it back.
In the 1980's when my folks were in the Est self development movement I remember how when Werner came to Wembley after we were handed the Arena - having been cleaned by Wembley staff before we started using it we totally re-cleaned the whole place. Vacuumed the whole reception, all backstage. All about creating an impeccable space. In the green room they had a crushed velvet wall and sofas, and I went over every inch with parcel tape on my hands to remove any specks of dust. Funny though, Werner Erhard wasn't there helping the other volunteers get the Arena ready?
I'm looking forward to hearing how the new Spurs managers more humble approach will compare to the "special" approach that failed to garnish results.
I work in retail and it's a big tradition that in the run-up to Christmas everyone has to do some shifts in stores - especially in the weeks before christmas. It's so common that a lot of the time no one even asks what your job in head office is, I've seen senior managers stacking shelves or on the till. As a way to remind people of what our teams do every day it brings a lot of the 'sweep the sheds' energy.
I remember my first boss used to say "I'll never ask you to do something that I won't do" and used to help us carry boxes or fill bags. Always stuck with me - not just that he offered but that he always used to do it too
I've worked in sales for a long-time. There's a big tradition in sales that the a manager will 'put something through' on expenses. The team goes out for big drinks after a good week, everyone debates how it can be claimed. The middle boss steps up and says 'I'll put it through, I'll say we were out with [name of a big supplier]'. While that might seem benign, what it does is it tells everyone 'there are some lies we have to tell to enjoy our life like this'. I've known sales people with desk drawers full of blank receipts, or grabbing a copy of the receipt after being out for drinks with friends so they can make more money out of it. Reading this book has made me wonder if all of those things don't destroy a culture from within.
Having listened to the podcast now, I have a new best takeaway -" a championship team beats a team full of champions". I think the revelation that the book was written as "mission creep" from another book project may be why it didn't have much new in it. I loved what he said in the podcast about "you write what you don't already know" although I don't believe that this was the case here. But it's a nice idea nonetheless.
I dragged myself through the Audible book on a long journey to pick up my son from camp.
The repeated clichés and awful accents were hard work and made me think there was little new. It wasn't clear what he was summarising was what he'd learnt the All Black use or just general culture twaddle he'd felt like summarising. Maybe it would have worked on paper, but in audio it was tedious.
Should have waiting for your summary, suspect what you've said above is enough. Just love the sweeping story. Says so much about culture. Think with such a strong begining the book should have just ended there.
Did you know that the paper he quotes on Integrity is from the Est / Landmark school (remember the cult I tried to enrol you - Bruce- in in the 90's?). That definition of Integrity is very interesting. Not a question of judgment, but a question of "workability". If you haven't read it, it's worth looking at. I'd value your view.
Re humility, an Asda manager I trained years back told a story of meeting Sam Walton ambushing him back of store when he was doing a work experience stint in the US at Walmart. Apparently he'd joined the delivery crew, unloaded the vans and then walked around chatting to staff getting a pulse. He did it regularly apparently. I had a trainer mentor who would clean the rooms we used in hotels / conference facilities in the same way as the staff before handing it back.
In the 1980's when my folks were in the Est self development movement I remember how when Werner came to Wembley after we were handed the Arena - having been cleaned by Wembley staff before we started using it we totally re-cleaned the whole place. Vacuumed the whole reception, all backstage. All about creating an impeccable space. In the green room they had a crushed velvet wall and sofas, and I went over every inch with parcel tape on my hands to remove any specks of dust. Funny though, Werner Erhard wasn't there helping the other volunteers get the Arena ready?
I'm looking forward to hearing how the new Spurs managers more humble approach will compare to the "special" approach that failed to garnish results.
I work in retail and it's a big tradition that in the run-up to Christmas everyone has to do some shifts in stores - especially in the weeks before christmas. It's so common that a lot of the time no one even asks what your job in head office is, I've seen senior managers stacking shelves or on the till. As a way to remind people of what our teams do every day it brings a lot of the 'sweep the sheds' energy.
I remember my first boss used to say "I'll never ask you to do something that I won't do" and used to help us carry boxes or fill bags. Always stuck with me - not just that he offered but that he always used to do it too
I've worked in sales for a long-time. There's a big tradition in sales that the a manager will 'put something through' on expenses. The team goes out for big drinks after a good week, everyone debates how it can be claimed. The middle boss steps up and says 'I'll put it through, I'll say we were out with [name of a big supplier]'. While that might seem benign, what it does is it tells everyone 'there are some lies we have to tell to enjoy our life like this'. I've known sales people with desk drawers full of blank receipts, or grabbing a copy of the receipt after being out for drinks with friends so they can make more money out of it. Reading this book has made me wonder if all of those things don't destroy a culture from within.