One Team. Many Plays. One Goal.

Eddie Geller
Jul 14
2 min read

In American football, offense and defense play very different roles. But no one questions they’re on the same team. They wear the same jersey. They’re accountable to the same scoreboard. And they only win when both sides execute — together.

Now look at most companies.

Sales is chasing revenue. Product is managing scope. Ops is watching risk. HR is trying to drive engagement. They’re all working — but rarely together. Different goals, different incentives, different definitions of “winning.”

This is where performance breaks down. Not because people aren’t trying — but because they’re not aligned. They’re not one team. And in that misalignment lie blind spots, friction, and hidden profit.

Sports teams know something most businesses forget: performance is a game of inches. Marginal tweaks — in communication, in role clarity, in trust — can unlock massive gains. You don’t need heroic effort. You need small, systemic improvements that shift momentum across the organization.

At SKOR, we’ve studied what drives high-performing teams and uncovered seven repeatable indicators — the same qualities that show up on elite sports teams:

Accountability – Everyone owns their role. There are no passengers.
Transparency – Information flows freely. Everyone knows the plan.
Healthy Conflict – Teams challenge each other to get better. Feedback is a habit, not a threat.
Growth Mindset – Learning is constant. Mistakes are data.
Adaptability – Conditions shift. Great teams shift with them.
Recognition – Effort is visible. Wins are celebrated.
Goals & Rewards – Everyone plays toward the same scoreboard.

When companies embed these behaviors, silos start to dissolve. Collaboration improves. And the hidden profit that’s been leaking out through friction and misalignment gets recaptured.

The problem is, most companies never measure this. They rely on lagging engagement scores or gut feel.

So they miss what’s actually slowing them down — until it's too late.

Want to win? Start thinking like a team. Align your players. Run the same playbook. And measure the inches that matter.

🔵 The SKOR Preview shows you where your blind spots are and how much performance (and profit) your teams are leaving on the table. Start measuring what actually drives execution.