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Pixar’s common purpose – their shared desire to make great movies using new computer technology – was compelling, it was the overriding concern of each of the team, a vibrant and visceral picture of the future that the team found inspirational. In the hit-and-miss movie world, Pixar have remained virtually faultless in their productions.
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Pixar’s first screening of Toy Story to Disney was disastrous. Suddenly everything they had been working towards for years was going terribly wrong. But the shared intensity of the threat to their entire reason for existing bonded the team, a catalyst to shift gears and move to the next level.
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The Toy Story crisis was the tipping point for the creation of the Pixar superteam. Had it come any earlier in Pixar’s development it might have broken the team. Instead, given the foundations of a strong, shared common purpose, ‘Black Friday’ turned out to be a positive moment of truth.
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Ryder Cup teams know that if they are going to win the competition outright they must score 14½ points. For the players that is a clear, specific and measureable definition of what victory and success looks like. A team’s common purpose needs to be just as clear-cut to be effective.
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In the Iranian Embassy siege the mission objective was ruthlessly simple: rescue the hostages inside the building. Everything the SAS did was focused on that single objective. To ensure there was absolutely no doubt, the mission was confirmed twice in the operational orders given by Brigadier Peter de la Billière.
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A common purpose must work for everyone on the team. The volunteers in the Red Cross shops across Britain see their work selling second-hand clothes in terms of saving lives. They have a line of sight between their work and a cause that is bigger than any one of them.
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The common purpose that has kept the Rolling Stones together for 50 years is their continued commitment to being ‘the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world’. None of their various side projects has been as successful. Being in the Stones is still the best way of achieving each individual’s goals.
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In Northern Ireland the great prize of ‘peace’, of leaving a lasting legacy by being a peacemaker was a powerful motivating force for the leaders of the different factions. It provided the common purpose that mastered and neutralized conflict, bringing together implacable foes into an unlikely but highly effective team.
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All Ferrari team members were already F1 winners: individual victories or championships were not enough motivation. The team was fuelled by the common purpose of revitalizing the Ferrari legend, and living up to the spirit of Enzo Ferrari, translated on to the track. The team sought total victory, total dominance.
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FORGE COMMON PURPOSEMain Menu
Define the need for a team. Do you actually need a team? Teams are at their best facing challenges one person alone can’t master. An effective common purpose provides a clear, compelling, motivating reason for a team. Unless your objective demands a collective response, it’s probably not worth the effort and expense of building a team.
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Make your common purpose compelling by making it personal and shared. The poster says ‘There is no I in team’ but in fact a powerful way of delivering high performance is not quashing self-interest but aligning it with the team’s interest. It is far more productive to focus on ‘the right thing for me is also the right thing for we’.
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Move hearts as well as minds. Inspire your team with a vivid picture of a better future. Connect the team’s work to an exciting, meaningful outcome and a result that’s worthwhile to them. It doesn’t have to mean anything to anyone else. It only needs to matter to your team.
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Inject a sense of urgency. Action trumps inertia when the alternative is worse. Turn your team’s attention to the peril and the price of doing nothing. Make the most of a crisis by harnessing the focusing power of urgency to propel them into purposeful action. Build momentum through early successes that demonstrate progress is possible.
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Go beyond business as usual. Shifting gears to become a higher performing team requires the energy and excitement of a real challenge. An adventure where success is not guaranteed will mobilize your team to act differently. Becoming better will not happen by doing the same things in the same way.
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Teams need a shared roadmap: a realistic appraisal of where they are, clarity on what success looks like, and a common path to that success. Asking each member to write down the team’s objectives soon reveals whether your team is on the same page – or even on the same planet.
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Agree your definition of victory. If everyone in your team shares the same specific understanding of what success looks like, when you shout ‘Go’ everyone will move in the same direction towards the same target. In sports winning and losing is usually clear-cut. The challenge for all teams is targeting the same level of clarity.
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Take a robust view of reality by taking off your rose-tinted glasses. Form a brutally honest assessment of what is working and what isn’t. Confronting the pain early enough to be able to do something about it is far better than attempting to recover from failure when it’s too late.
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Build the plan for your team together. Doing it as a team will help you get the most out of your team. You can draw on their diverse experiences, expertise and perspectives to build accuracy and robustness. In addition, involving the team engages them and fosters commitment to the purpose and plan.
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Keep focused and keep flexible. It’s like sailing: the team’s common purpose is the north star, the fixed point for navigating. To reach the destination the team needs to tack continuously to make progress. You cannot fight the winds of changing circumstances; you need to adapt and work with them.
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Constant communication of the common purpose sustains momentum over the inevitable bumps in the road. Forget mouse mats with inspirational slogans. This is all about making purpose a vibrant, continuous conversation amongst team members. Reinforce the message of common purpose and remind the team about it as often as possible.
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Leaders looking to turbocharge their teams need to establish a shared performance challenge that combines both the energy and hope embedded in an inspirational vision of the future and the real sense of urgency often associated with crisis. > Lead the team

Finding the right talent for your team is not about taking part in a popularity contest. Selection is about laser focus to separate the talent you need from everyone else. An effective common purpose will attract the talent you want and actively repel those who don’t have the right stuff. > Pursue a quest for the best

To get the most out of your team each member must be clear about their team role: what is expected of them, why it matters - a clarity that goes beyond defining roles in terms of responsibilities and authority by connecting how each role contributes to the team’s common purpose. > Shape the environment for success

A powerful way of building the magnetic binding force of cohesion is by forging a clear and compelling team purpose as well as ensuring your team is well led. The shared common purpose will allow you and your team to remain consistent and reliable under pressure and through testing times. > Build cohesion

In mastering conflict, constantly reminding your team about your clear, compelling common purpose ensures your team is focused on what really matters: they keep their eyes on the prize. Your objective should be to find a win-win-win solution, satisfying each side of the conflict and the team as a whole. > Master conflict

Your team will be driven by both hope and fear. Your common purpose should provide an inexorable pull and motivate the team to change for the better. Drawing out the fear and loathing that resides in crises, failures and losing to competitors can also directly motivate your team into action. > Adapt or die
YOUR AGENDA FOR BUILDING
A BETTER TEAM
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NAVIGATION
About Khoi Tu
Blog
Contact

Insight
Forge Common Purpose
Lead the Team
Pursue a Quest for the Best
Shape the Environment for Success
Build Cohesion
Master Conflict
Adapt or Die

Inspiration
Pixar
Ryder Cup
SAS
British Red Cross
Rolling Stones
Northern Ireland Peace Process
Ferrari Formula One

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WHAT PEOPLE SAY
‘Products, companies and organisations that
are brilliant, fun and deliver on their promise
often look super, super simple to the outside
world, but the detail and speed happening
behind the scenes is frighteningly fast. To
achieve this, let alone keep it going, requires
the right team and leadership, and a little bit
of magic based around good, solid
relationships and people skills.
We all work hard to get it right, even people
that are good at it, and nothing good lasts
forever so we need to keep on our toes!
For me, this is what this book is all about
– it shows what humans can do in different
scenarios, especially when the going gets
tough and there's a goal to be achieved.
Nice one Khoi.’
Jamie Oliver, Chef, Entrepreneur, Activist

‘Khoi Tu is the most visionary among
visionaries.’
Management Today

‘Khoi Tu has an inspirational mind, full of
curiosity, and a strong desire to find solutions
for issues that can seem to be unsolvable.’
‘Sir Jackie Stewart, three-time World Drivers’ Champion

‘This is a fantastic book. Do you want to
supercharge your team? Then ‘superteams’
will help you do just that and more. It is
creative, inspirational, and filled with
practical insights into what the most
successful teams do to reach such high
achievement. Reading it brings the
excitement of being part of the teams. WOW!
This book is destined to be a classic.’
George Kohlrieser, Professor of Leadership
at IMD.

‘Insightful… this book will be an essential in
any managers’ toolkit.’
Sir Nicholas Young, CEO of British Red Cross

‘Demystifies and choreographs what’s needed
to create high performance teams. Anybody
interested in teambuilding and teamwork
should have a serious look at this book.’
Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, INSEAD Global Leadership Centre

IN THE MEDIA