I challenge the idea that people in a company are working towards a collective goal.
- The goal of those with lots of equity, like the founders and investors, is that "collective goal" of company profit.
- The goal of one employee may be to keep their job, provide for their family, and spend as much time with their family as possible.
- The goal of another employee may be to learn as much as possible.
- The goal of another employee may be to get promoted up as high as possible (for social and/or financial gains).
- The goal of another employee may be to do as much social good as possible, regardless of what the effect is on the bottom line.
If a company is like a sports team, then I think it's like one that is thrown together in gym class where each student has a different goal.
- One student may actually be competitive and want to win.
- Another may care a lot about their grade, and only try when the teacher glances over at them.
- Another may just be concerned with not getting sweaty and ruining his/her hair.
- Another may be selfish and want to, in basketball for example, be a ball hog and take every shot.
- Another may just be having fun, and not be too concerned with winning.
I understand that executives may _want_ their employees to act as if they are on a competitive sports team - working really hard together towards a common goal, and then heading home at night to relax and recharge. But the fact that executives want it doesn't make it an accurate description of reality.
Some sports execs want to increase their stadium attendance. LeBron wanted a trophy. Some play to get paid, some focus on staying healthy.
I think it's a fine analogy even when you add the nuances. Not all companies are good teams though - sometimes you have the marching band deciding what plays to run so they can play their favorite song, to mix analogies...
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I challenge the idea that people in a company are working towards a collective goal.
- The goal of those with lots of equity, like the founders and investors, is that "collective goal" of company profit.
- The goal of one employee may be to keep their job, provide for their family, and spend as much time with their family as possible.
- The goal of another employee may be to learn as much as possible.
- The goal of another employee may be to get promoted up as high as possible (for social and/or financial gains).
- The goal of another employee may be to do as much social good as possible, regardless of what the effect is on the bottom line.
If a company is like a sports team, then I think it's like one that is thrown together in gym class where each student has a different goal.
- One student may actually be competitive and want to win.
- Another may care a lot about their grade, and only try when the teacher glances over at them.
- Another may just be concerned with not getting sweaty and ruining his/her hair.
- Another may be selfish and want to, in basketball for example, be a ball hog and take every shot.
- Another may just be having fun, and not be too concerned with winning.
I understand that executives may _want_ their employees to act as if they are on a competitive sports team - working really hard together towards a common goal, and then heading home at night to relax and recharge. But the fact that executives want it doesn't make it an accurate description of reality.
Some sports execs want to increase their stadium attendance. LeBron wanted a trophy. Some play to get paid, some focus on staying healthy.
I think it's a fine analogy even when you add the nuances. Not all companies are good teams though - sometimes you have the marching band deciding what plays to run so they can play their favorite song, to mix analogies...
The bad thing about the sports analogy is that sports are mass entertainment.