I hate football–I can’t stand it. I really do like all sorts of sports, just not football. I grew up playing soccer, and I loved watching the Red Wings both in their “Dead Wings” phase and when they lifted the Stanley Cup on an annual basis. I like sports. I love hockey and soccer. But I have always hated football.
I could never understand the allure of a sport where players engage in 5-second spurts of action and where 2 minutes left on the clock means that there is still another hour left before the game is over. It’s giants knocking their heads into other giants, trying to stop each other at all costs. Endless interceptions and missed tackles. The Lions always losing, many times because of self-inflicted errors. Really, what’s to like?
But, recently, something is different. In the last two years, I have found myself paying more attention. First, the game recaps during the sports portion of the news started catching my attention–the Lions were winning more and more. One day, I realized that I knew what time the Lions were playing and sought out the results later that day. Before I knew it, I was taking my son to a game at Ford Field, and I was hooked on the Lions.
What changed? Being the furthest thing from a football expert, I asked my fellow Menlonians for their opinions. Some pointed to the hiring of Special Assistant to the President, Chris Spielman, or CEO Brad Holmes, others to the new owner, Sheila Ford Hamp. Most regarded coach Dan Campbell as the biggest catalyst. Regardless of the opinion, a change in leadership and the culture change that came with it was the clear consensus.
When he came to the Lions, Campbell had a vision for the team he wanted to coach and intentionally set out to build it. It didn’t happen right away, but 3 wins one season turned into 9 wins the next, and then 12 the third season. He had a belief that the culture of grit and aggressiveness that he was building would bring success to Detroit.
How did the Lions do it? Just like any effective business striving for a culture change. They found the right players for the right positions who would lean into the new culture of grit that they were building. They focused on continuous improvement, working until they found the right recipe of coaching and players, and the right tactics and plays. They iterated until they had a winning formula, complete with trick plays that involve players playing in new roles and aggressively striving for touchdowns on fourth down instead of kicking a field goal. They were patient, sticking with the system and culture they built until their belief in the system and themselves translated to success on the field.
Like the Lions, Menlo is a company intentionally built for a specific culture. Our focus on a culture-fit-first approach to hiring echoes Campbell’s approach to choosing draft picks who believe in the culture of grit and teamwork that he has built. With our hiring process, we are deliberate about focusing primarily on finding candidates who have the kindergarten skills we value and who will thrive in our collaborative environment. And just as the Lions have the right players for the right positions, we are currently in the process of adopting a new leadership strategy to ensure we have the right people in the right seats to continue to build the company for the future we want to have.
The Lions are fearless. Literally. They have the reputation of always attempting to convert on a 4th down, rather than punting the ball away. And they are pretty good at it, but not perfect. When they fail, they know that their coach will high five them for their efforts and take responsibility for the failure in public. At Menlo, we know we will make mistakes, but because of our culture, where fear doesn’t have a place and where we want to make mistakes faster, we are more apt to celebrate the fact that we found a way that didn’t work. Celebrating attempts as well as successes, making it ok to fail, leads to a team that is willing to be creative and experiment.
Menlo’s culture of running experiments allows us to continuously improve and iterate on practices that have worked in the past, just as the Lions constantly adjust and improve on plays even in the middle of a game. Without the Lions’ continuous improvement, other teams would easily predict and foil their plays.
Think about it. If the Lions–who had only won one playoff game in 66 years, went 0-16 not too long ago leading to an article entitled “Detroit Lions: Two Reasons They Will Never Be Winners”, and who were known for grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory–if they can change their culture significantly enough to be a Super Bowl contender in just 3 years, what can businesses achieve by making an intentional culture change?
As I write this, the Lions and the city of Detroit are basking in a 52-6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, a win in which they broke 16 franchise or NFL records. A game that I deliberately scheduled my day around and sat down by myself to watch. I still don’t know the terminology or the positions or the plays, and I still hate football. But I am a Lions fan.
A huge thanks to the Menlonians who are true Lions fans regardless of the team’s record and who explained the transition to me for this piece: Logan Farmer, Carol Sheridan, and James Goebel