What Business Can Learn from theNew England Patriots
By Dr. Michael HammerFebruary 2002
The New England Patriots pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history by defeatingthe heavily favored St. Louis Rams 20-17. The Patriots accomplished this after going undefeated inthe final eight weeks of the regular season, edging out the Oakland Raiders in the conferencesemi-finals, and then beating the favored Pittsburgh Steelers to win the AFC Championship. Yeteven the most die-hard Patriots fans acknowledge that their team is far from the most talented inthe league; moreover, the team was without the services of its star quarterback, wide receiver, andlinebacker for virtually the entire season. How did they manage to do it?Various explanations are emerging. One is that the Patriots were just lucky, “destiny’s team,” thattheir overconfident adversaries defeated themselves through turnovers and dumb mistakes.Another is a feel-good tale of a gritty, blue-collar team of hard-working underdogs who subvertedtheir egos to beat superior opponents. A third is that of a “genius” coach who outmaneuvered hisless sophisticated counterparts. While there are elements of truth to all of these, none is sufficient.Any team can be lucky once in a while, but not week after week and not in the NFL playoffs. Gritand determination will not stop speedy receivers or blitzing linebackers, and coaches are on thesidelines while the game is being played. The Patriots story is in fact richer than any of these;moreover, it offers important lessons for any organization trying to achieve high performance.
Innovative processes are key to success
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Execution is absolutely necessary, but it is not suffi-cient, particularly when your opponents have more talent than you do. Instead, you have to play adifferent game from what they are. The Patriots do not use the same football plays as everyoneelse. They employ a lot of “gimmick” plays on offense, and a wide range of unconventional con-figurations on defense. Opponents have trouble recognizing what they are facing and find theirown plays disrupted, as Patriot players keep showing up where nobody expects them to be. Whenthis happens, touchdowns and interceptions are not accidents but inevitabilities. The counterpartin business to football plays is processes, the ways in which a company performs its work. If youdevelop products, fill orders, create demand, and serve customers in much the same way as yourcompetitors, it is hard to see how you will defeat them. Instead, you need to be as creative inyour processes as you are in your products and your marketing. Find new ways of commercializingnew technologies, of managing customer relationships, of planning production. ProgressiveInsurance zoomed from nowhere to being the 4th largest auto insurer in the country by constantoperational innovation, inventing new ways of underwriting, handling claims, and quoting rates.Great football plays are not designed in the huddle; they are the result of meticulous work byoffensive and defensive coordinators. Similarly, new ways of working don’t happen by accidentand they are not invented on the fly by people in the trenches. You need to put real effort andresources into creating great processes and making sure that your people know and follow them.
Match your people to your processes
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Question: who is the better quarterback, the veteranstarter Drew Bledsoe or his backup Tom Brady (who stepped in when Bledsoe was injured)?Answer: the question is meaningless. Bledsoe undoubtedly has a stronger arm than Brady, but it isunlikely that the Patriots would have done as well this year had he been at the helm. The Patriots’system was not well-matched to Bledsoe’s style of quarterbacking, which is centered on staying inthe pocket to hit receivers on deep routes. Other teams may have better individual players, but thetalents that the Patriots did have fit just right with the kinds of plays they were expected to carry
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