--- description: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t, his exhaustive study of great teams and leaders. He holds Nucor up as... title: Team Building: How to Use Moneyball at the Office to Build Great Teams image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Psychology](/tag/psychology/) ## Psychology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Team Building: How to Use Moneyball at the Office to Build Great Teams by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 25, 2014 4:01 AM CUT by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 25, 2014 4:01 AM CUT Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t, his exhaustive study of great teams and leaders. He holds Nucor up as a prime example of perfect team building. **These guys were so devoted they chased lazy employees out of the factory.** Via [Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0066620996/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0066620996&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"): --- > “” --- **And the best people are worth it.** Yes, they’re that much better. There are Michael Jordans in every industry. Via [Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths And Total Nonsense: Profiting From Evidence-Based Management](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591398622/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1591398622&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"): --- > “” --- Office workers are no different. Via [Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths And Total Nonsense: Profiting From Evidence-Based Management](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591398622/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1591398622&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"): --- > “” --- And the above is probably just worthless and depressing information to almost everyone reading this. You know why? ## **Most people don’t work with the top 2 percent** You’re probably shocked some of your co-workers can dress themselves and find the door out of the house in the morning. With good reason. A lot of people are just plain _dumb_. Via [Competitive Advantage Through People: Unleashing the Power of the Work Force](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/087584717X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=087584717X&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"): --- > “” --- This is why team building can be a nightmare and most advice is useless: **Everyone says “get the best” and that’s rarely an option.** What’s a far more realistic approach? **_How do you find diamonds in the rough?_** How can you do [Moneyball](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393324818/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0393324818&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined") in the average workplace and find the undervalued players who already surround you? ## Look For The Round Peg In The Square Hole [Research](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/03/interview-nyt-bestselling-author-dan-ariely-talks/ "undefined") shows we give too much weight to individual personality and efforts and [too little to context](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/whats-the-most-effective-way-to-change-you-be/ "undefined"). **Put an A player in an impossible role and PRESTO! — watch them become indistinguishable from a C player.** **This is what the investigative commission realized after the Columbia space shuttle tragedy — NASA was so badly organized that it made good employees into poor performers.** Via [Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths And Total Nonsense: Profiting From Evidence-Based Management](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591398622/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1591398622&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"): --- > “” --- **Look for the obviously bright people who are struggling in spots where they’re all but set up to fail.** **When you’re team building, those are the people you want to steal.** This is how Brad Bird made the Pixar film “[The Incredibles](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004I654UI/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004I654UI&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined").” He targeted the brilliant but floundering. In an interview with [McKinsey Quarterly](http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/innovation/innovation%5Flessons%5Ffrom%5Fpixar%5Fan%5Finterview%5Fwith%5Foscar-winning%5Fdirector%5Fbrad%5Fbird "undefined") he said: --- > “” --- And with that he made a great movie and helped keep innovation alive at Pixar. ## He Makes Ten Times As Many Errors? PERFECT! You might want to consider that employee who makes ten times as many errors. Seriously. **Teams that reported 10 times the number of errors had the best leadership and best coworker relationships.** Via [Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths And Total Nonsense: Profiting From Evidence-Based Management](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591398622/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1591398622&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"): --- > “” --- Huh? Everybody makes errors. These teams actually reported them all. So they learned. And got better. And trusted each other. **The real danger was the people who were sweeping errors under the rug —** **_but those are the people who got the best reviews from bosses_** **.** Via [Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths And Total Nonsense: Profiting From Evidence-Based Management](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591398622/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1591398622&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"): --- > “” --- We rarely get the obvious A players. But the true A players are not always obvious. **Join 45K+ readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD "undefined"). Related posts: [10 Research-Backed Steps To Building A Great Team](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/great-team/ "undefined") [Checklist: Are you doing these five things to be more effective at work?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/01/checklist-effective-work/ "undefined") [What 5 insights can you learn from the best book on management ever?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/03/insights-management-book/ "undefined") _This piece originally appeared on_ [_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/ "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3030927/team-building-how-to-use-moneyball-at-the-office-to-build-great-teams/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3030927/team-building-how-to-use-moneyball-at-the-office-to-build-great-teams/"},"headline":"Team Building: How to Use Moneyball at the Office to Build Great Teams","datePublished":"2014-07-25T04:01:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:54:28.084Z","description":"Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t, his exhaustive study of great teams and leaders. 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