Teams don't compete in a vacuum

In his wonderful book "The Halo Effect," Phil Rosenzweig describes the efforts of a well-known retailer to make significant change to its business in the 1990s. Industry analysts determined that this retailer, among its many changes:

-- Installed point-of-sale terminals in its stores to improve inventory planning;
-- reduced procurement costs by expanding central buying to 75% of its merchandise;
-- modernized inventory management;
-- increased seasonal sales, including a 60% improvement in Halloween and Christmas items;
-- raised inventory accuracy and efficiency;
-- reduced expense as a percentage of sales;
-- implemented a sophisticated client/server technology that led to better merchandise management and savings of $240 million.

On top of that, inventory "turns" improved by 32 percent.Pretty impressive, right? You'd have to say that they must have had great teamwork to accomplish all of that. The company described above is KMart. Sure, the store made huge strides, but they were competing against WalMart and Target, who accomplished more...and faster. Looking backward from the end result colors everything, including teamwork.

It's possible to do everything right and yet have poor outcomes because in the real world you are usually in a competitive environment. Look at Starbuck's today. They wouldn't have any trouble if Peet's and Caribou and others didn't exist...if McDonald's didn't sell coffee...if Dunkin Donuts didn't care about coffee. But they all do.It reminds me of the old boxing axiom: everybody has a plan until they get hit. In business, we get hit every moment of every day. The competitors have good executives and employees too.So when you're feeling good about your "teamwork," remember that you're not working in a vacuum.