Recently I started to watch the Netflix series “La Casa de Papel”. This Spanish series is about a team of crooks that rob the Royal Mint of Spain. A mastermind who goes by the name of “El Profesor” has it all planned out and collected a team to get the job done. Given the very special way they want to rob the bank, they need to stay inside the bank for about 12 days, meanwhile keeping many people hostage.
Now, it might be a strange bridge from a criminal mastermind to business. However, what El Profesor does is twofold. First he creates a strategy that seems to be able to withstand every setback. Secondly he assembles a group of total strangers who each are masters of their own (criminal) trade and forms them into a team. A team that, so far, seems strong enough to withstand all setbacks. There are a few elements that keeps this team together: the drive to flawlessly execute a perfect strategy and upon success a tremendous reward for each of them.
Peter Drucker once said “culture eats strategy for breakfast” and El Profesor seems to have listened. He covered this by creating a strong team culture and intertwining it with instilling a clear understanding of every step of his strategy. The team knows what needs to be done and why: the strategy is part of the team culture. So far (I am only watching episode 8 of season 1) it seems to work for this team.
How about your team: do your team members have a clear understanding of the strategy as an essential part of the team culture?