Making of a Dynasty

With the Super Bowl behind us and some time before  Spring Training gets fully underway, the primary focus of sports-talk conversation centers around a single topic.  What team is the greatest sports dynasty of all time?

Quite simply, a sports dynasty is a team that dominates their sport for an extended period of time. They set the bar, control the narrative, and become the standard by which organizations are measured in the future. Winning once is not enough.  To become a dynasty you must create an organization that, year in and year out, wins consistently.

In the National Football League, the 60’s belonged to the Green Bay Packers. Pittsburgh dominated the 70’s. The San Francisco 49ers ruled the 80’s. The 90’s were controlled by the NFC East, with three different teams taking turns beating up on the Buffalo Bills. However, since 2001, only one team has dominated the sport like no other team before them: The New England Patriots. 

Many people dislike this organization.  Too many red flags, videotaped practices, and deflated balls surround their success.  This year, despite being penalized financially, stripped of future draft picks, and having their quarterback suspended for four games - they did the unthinkable.  They won it all.  While Tom Brady served his suspension early in the year, their no-named tandem of 2nd and 3rd string quarterbacks (Jimmy Garapolo and Jacoby Brissett) carried the team to a 3-1 record.  When Brady returned, they won on the backs of unknown players like Chris Hogan, Rob Ninkovich, and James White.

Here is what goes unnoticed when it comes to their success:  The hard work behind the scenes; the endless hours of preparation. The Patriots have an uncompromising attention to detail which helps them execute their game plan with a precision that other organizations simply cannot match.  Another fact that often goes unnoticed is their roster.  They win with a bunch of nobody’s. 

They have their cornerstone in Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, but every other position seems to be interchangeable at any given moment.  This approach reminds me of the movie, ‘Miracle’ when Coach Herb Brooks was informed that he missed on some of the best players.  He said, ‘I’m not looking for the best players….I’m looking for the right ones.’

The building blocks of your dynasty are in place too, you have a great product, great service and a good location.  Those are foundational pieces that should not change. Ever.

If all the Patriots had was Brady & Belichick it would not be enough.  Their success is predicated on significant contributions by players other teams would consider cheap or insignificant. What separates New England from the rest of the NFL is they have gone ‘all-in’ with their belief in the importance and value of this type of player.  Not the best player, but the right one.  Because of that belief, they invest their time, energy, and resources in these players with maximum results.

It is time for you to stop trusting solely on the ‘best players’ of your marketing campaign like Print, TV, and Radio. In order for you to win consistently and build your dynasty, you need to invest in the ‘nobody’ of your marketing strategy: on-hold advertising.

In doing so, you will not only reinforce your image with every call, you will send a message about your uncompromising attention to detail to every single customer and potential customer who takes the time to contact you.  It is here, behind the scenes, where most of the hard work will go unnoticed by your competitor - but will prove integral to your continued success.  It is with your professionally produced, creative on-hold advertising campaign where you set the bar, control the narrative, and raise the standard of what it is like to do business with you.

As you discover it is well worth finding the right on hold company to create the perfect image for your brand,  then begin investing more time, energy, and resources into this medium.  But, be prepared for your assistants to point out that you are missing out on some of the best tools to reach your target market.  Remind them that you agree. This might not be the ‘best’ known tool.

But it is the right one.

Tom McTee, Super-Genius