[Music] i recently read the culture code by daniel coyle if you can find a team with a strong culture your performance will skyrocket because when you work in a strong culture your brain switches from protect my status and don't look stupid to i want to do everything i can to help my team succeed in essence you go from a scared guard dog barking at social threats to a wolf in a pack hunting down a target high performing cultures create this switch by using the culture code a way in which a team interacts that boosts individual motivation and increases the collective skill of the team the san antonio spurs basketball team is regarded as the most successful team in american sports over the last two decades over the previous 18 seasons the spurs have won 117 more games than nba teams with players of similar individual skill from 2000 to 2010 the pixar studios storytellers were no more talented than the storytellers at disney however pixar produced blockbuster after blockbuster while disney's animated movies flopped pixar studios and the spurs leveraged the culture code to exceed all expectations that culture code can be distilled down to one message conveyed amongst team members you belong it's safe to speak up here and we have a purpose first you belong imagine you're at a party and the host enthusiastically welcomes you with a hug then asks about the vacation you just got back from and listens intently after a minute or so he has to go back to the kitchen to prepare food for the party but says he can't wait to discuss your new business venture later in the evening the host has just activated three belonging cues that you'll find embedded in high performing team interactions energy individualization and future orientation one reason the san antonio spurs have consistently exceeded expectations in the nba is because their coach greg popovich frequently sparks energetic individualized and future oriented conversations with his players that make them feel like they're part of a family after a bad loss in which spurs guard marco belinelli had multiple turnovers that cost the team the game popovich walked into the next practice surprisingly upbeat and stopping to chat with each player one at a time often in their native language his interactions were brief but filled with laughter when he reached belinelli his smile increased and after a few words bellinelli joked back at paw before engaging in a mock wrestling match for a few seconds on route to the world series chicago cubs coach joe madden would invite players to his office who violated team rules and asked him to draw a piece of paper out of a jar on his desk on the paper a player would find the name of a wine that they had to purchase and bring back to the coach's office so they could drink it together and strengthen their relationship nothing says you belong more than feeling loved after you screw up oddly enough one of the best ways to communicate to someone that they belong to your team is to give them critical feedback that sounds like i'm being critical because i have very high expectations for you and this team and i believe you can achieve them by delivering this magical feedback as psychologists call it in person you'll let the person know they belong to a special team and if they put in the effort they'll have a bright future the second part of the culture code message is it's safe to speak up here imagine you're back at that party and there's a bunch of people you don't know they seem intimidating but then you hear a highly confident and seemingly influential person tell an embarrassing story about themselves and then laugh at themselves with the rest of the group at that moment you might think oh wow it's okay to be open and honest here high-performing team leaders go out of their way to create the it's okay to be open and honest here feeling one example is dave cooper leader of navy seal team six the team that took out osama bin laden when cooper introduced himself to new recruits he'd say you can call me coop dave face it's your choice later he'd quiz them by saying if you see me next to a window in a hostile urban environment with snipers what are you gonna do after letting them ponder the question he'd say i hope you'd tell me to get the away from it cooper wanted his teammates to know they should not be intimidated by rank and they should always speak up if they see a problem because without their input the team was not going to survive immediately after missions cooper would do an after action review in which he would go through the mission they just completed chronologically and identify what could have been done better during most reviews you'd hear him say i screwed that part up which then opened the door for other teammates to admit mistakes that the team could collectively discuss and address which would help raise their performance in subsequent missions and before missions cooper rarely gave orders instead he suggested course of action and say now let's see if someone can poke holes in this or tell me what's wrong with this idea steve jobs did something similar with his executive team when pitching a new product idea he'd start with here's a dopey idea which conveyed humility and signaled to the group hey i need everyone to speak up and improve my idea the third and final part of the culture code message is we have a purpose when you walk into the seal headquarters in damn neck virginia you pass by dozens of memorials to fallen seals and artifacts from various terrorist attacks like a piece of shrapnel from the world trade center bombing each day the seals pass by these memorials and receive a clear reminder why they do what they do when you walk into the san antonio spurs practice facility you'll see a rock and sledgehammer behind glass with the team's catchphrase pound the rock which everyone in the spurs organization knows means to keep putting in the work for even if you hammer at a rock a hundred times without making a crack the hundred and first blow will split the rock in two and you'll know it was because of all the blows that came before it high-performing cultures plant artifacts throughout their environment to remind team members what they're about but they don't stop there leaders inside high-performing cultures mention the team's objective ten times more than you think is necessary danny meyer the founder of shake shack and many renowned new york restaurants goes out of his way to repeat cheesy purpose-driven catchphrases to his restaurant staff like athletic hospitality meaning we run around to ensure customers feel cared for or turn up the home dial meaning we make our customers feel as relaxed as they do at home each phrase is designed to be memorable and visual so it acts like a mini movie in the back of team members minds as they work so they never forget this is what we're about in the end if you want a high performing highly creative team convey the following message in every team interaction you belong it's safe to speak up here and we have a purpose let teammates know they belong by having frequent interactions that are energetic individualized and future oriented let everyone know it's safe to speak up by continually emitting mistakes downplaying your ideas and always asking for input and continually remind team members of the team's purpose by placing artifacts in the team environment and using cheesy catchphrases like turn up the home dial so your team never forgets the experience you're trying to create for yourselves and the people you serve author dan coyle says culture is a set of living relationships working towards a shared goal it's not something you are it's something you do that was the core message that i gathered from the culture code by daniel coyle this book provides a high performing team blueprint i highly recommend it if you would like a one-page pdf summary of insights that i gathered from this book just click the link below and i'll be happy to email it to you if you already subscribed to the free productivity game email newsletter this pdf is sitting in your inbox if you like this video please share it and as always thanks for watching and have yourself a productive week