Lessons in business from the front of the grid:

Previously we’ve wrote about the cornerstone success habits of the leading teams in F1 motorsport, based on over twenty years of research conducted by Dr Mark Jenkins, Professor in Business Strategy at Cranfield University. Mark kindly shared his latest findings with us following the launch of the third edition of his book Performance at the Limit.

Key takeaways from this discussion include:

Invest in your business not just a few star players: The best teams in motorsport have a strategy to build the best car, which in turn attracts the best drivers. Winners want to join teams where they stand the best chance of winning. Make sure your winning formula has a sound foundation and infrastructure.

Coach your entire team to be the best at what they do: In F1 it’s not just the drivers who have fitness instructors and nutritionists but the entire crew is kept in peak performance.

Collaborate with your partners: The best F1 teams treat their suppliers as partners and work closely with them to get the very best information, training and support. Make a list of all your suppliers and set objectives and expectations you want from the relationship.

Embrace change: F1 teams see changes to race regulations as an opportunity to prove how good they can be. Change in any market creates opportunity for the innovative and entrepreneurial minded business.

Make constant incremental changes: In F1 the mantra of the top teams is “learn and improve”, the rate of innovation is such that on average a new component is added to a F1 car every 17 minutes with 10,000 new part numbers being created for a car every season. This rapid evolution results in most teams racing completely different cars at the end of the season to those they started the season with. Understanding what you can do better in your business by asking “What Went Well” and “Even Better If” after every project is key to creating and building a culture of learning and improvement.

Know your one thing: What is the one thing your business exists to do? A leading F1 team boss repeatedly asks “Will it make the car go faster?” every time he writes a cheque over a certain value. This keeps everyone focussed on the one thing they exist to deliver.

Constant communication: Face to face communication is essential. Winning F1 teams discuss the key learnings from every race with the whole team and what the key priorities of the team are that week.

No blame philosophy: When things go wrong it is easy to point the finger of blame, this in turn creates a no risk culture, stifling innovation and entrepreneurialism. Winning F1 teams isolate the problem not the person to understand what went wrong and put it right.

Long-term perspective: The teams who consistently win do not react race to race but stay focussed on their long term objectives.

Have a one team mind set: A team culture is critical to the overall success of the team and your business. Whilst you may have aces in their places, each ace understands the part they play and the importance of everyone else in the team and the interconnection of roles. Recruiting people with the right attitude who fit in and have a pride in your brand ahead of personal ego is essential to building a one team business.

Order your own copy of his latest edition of Performance at the Limit- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Performance-Limit-Business-Lessons-Formula/dp/1108456243/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Performance+at+the+Limit&qid=1561559961&s=gateway&sr=8-1

At Euro Projects Recruitment, we specialise in understanding the values of the organisations we work with, ensuring you only employ people who match your culture and long term objectives.

To find out more about our different approach to recruitment contact us!