Buckeyes
Ohio State is a University in Ohio. Didn’t see that fact coming, did you?
Their football team, the Buckeyes, began a tradition in the 1960’s of awarding individual players stickers of recognition for great performance.
The team was very successful.
In the 1980’s and 1990’s, though, the team’s year-to-year performance dipped.
In 2001, Ohio State hired a new head coach: Jim Tressel.
Upon joining the team, Jim made one key change: the stickers were no longer awarded to a player for his individual performance.
The stickers were now awarded to groups of players based upon accomplishing benchmarks set out for the team.
During this time, the Ohio State football team became one of the most consistently great football programs in all of college football.
In 2002, the team finished with a 14-0 record; the first time in 105 years that any team had done so.
One season after Jim was hired, his team had a perfect season.
He set goals with the team.
He awarded the success of the group, not the individual.
Rewarding the individual works.
Rewarding the team works better.
1st down & kombucha to go,
-o.t.m.