5 Words Every Great Church And Business Have Said

“You have to give more than you’ve done before, because we want to achieve something we’ve never done before.  And that’s to take the Cup home.” – Germany head soccer coach Joachim Loew

Whether you lead an athletic team like Coach Loew or a church or business, smart leaders know to accomplish things you have never accomplished before you must do things you have never done before.

I was reminded of this truth as I read Grant Wahl’s profile on the World Cup champion German national soccer team in the July 21st edition of Sports Illustrated.  The following are 13 lessons from this team who said, “We’ve never done that before” which have major implications to great churches and businesses:

1. Great Churches And Businesses Develop Young Talent – The German soccer federation (DFB) launched a developmental program in 2003 for ages eight to 14.
2. Great Churches And Businesses Hire Staff Dedicated To Developing Young Talent – German youth programs have academies staffed by hundreds of coaches and scouts who are tasked with producing technically skilled players.
3. Great Churches And Businesses Budget Money To Developing Young Talent – The German Bumdesliga clubs contribute approximately $130 million annually into their academies.
4. Great Churches And Businesses Give Responsibility To Young Talent –  This is in stark contrast to European teams who purchase superstar athletes rather than prioritize the development of young talent.  As a result, young German talent are thrust into high-competitive, high-pressure situations earlier than their competitors.
5. Great Churches And Businesses Has Stable Leadership – The program is designed for players to only have four coaches throughout their youth career causing as minimal disruption as possible.
6. Great Churches And Businesses Plan For Unexpected Events By Building Margin  – Germany lost several talented players, specifically Marco Reus and Iklay Gundogan, prior to the tournament as well as Sami Khedira prior to the championship game.  Yet they won anyway.
7. Great Churches And Businesses Have A Deep And Talented Bench – During the World Cup finale, the Argentine reserves made little to no impact while two German back-ups, Andre Schurrle and Mario Gotze, combined on the game-winning goal.  Coach Loew said, “From the beginning we knew we were not only the 11 players on the field.  We would need 14, and (all 23) must be in top shape during the entire tournament.”
8. Great Churches And Businesses Has Options – Having a deep team provides leaders a multitude of options.  Eight different players scored goals while six had two or more.  Germany’s Phillip Lahm said in a July 14th USA Today article, “Whether we have the best individual players or whatever does not matter.  You have to have the best team.”
9. Great Churches And Businesses Prepare For The Future – The German team had seven players on their team 25 years or younger.  Lowe said in the same USA Today article, “We have lots of great players in Germany who are very young.  Lots of young players who are still able to do lots of things during their career.”
10. Great Churches And Businesses Embrace Change – The Brazilian team rested on past laurels and were unwilling to implement new ideas.  Brazilian head coach, Luiz Felipe who resigned shortly after an embarrassing 7-1 loss to Germany, said, “What Brazil is suffering from in both their sports and their national politics is an inability to actually make proper changes.”
11. Great Churches And Businesses Created Environments Conducive To Success – Felipe continued, “It’s not something (in Brazil) where you be like Germany and just say, ‘O.K., let’s invest in an amazing network of youth training.’  You just can’t do that in Brazil because of the poverty and corruption and lack of infrastructure.”
12. Great Churches And Businesses Have A Bias Toward Action – Coach Loew concluded in his USA Today interview saying, “Champions will do what you have to do and bring this thing to its final end.”
13. Great Churches And Businesses Are Willing To Give More Than They Have Ever Given Before – Lowe concluded, “You have to give more than you’ve done before, because we want to achieve something we’ve never done before.  And that’s to take the Cup home.”

If you do these 13 practices you, too, may also accomplish more than you have ever accomplished before.

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