mckinsey -制胜 顶尖运动员、团队与教练的独到之处 Winning What the best athletes,teams,and coaches do differently

September2026

McKinsey

&Company

Winning:Whatthebestathletes,teams,and

coachesdodifferently

Eightdisciplinesfordefiningsuccess,buildingthesystemtoachieveit,andfindinganedgewhenthemarginbetweengoodandgreatisrazor-thin.

bySethGoldstrom

McKinseySeniorPartnerSethGoldstromhasspentthreedecadesadvisingsomeofthe

world’sleadingcompaniesonhowtoimproveperformance.Morerecently,hehasbeenlookingtoadifferentsetofhighperformersforinspiration:world-classathletes,teams,andcoaches.

ThisworkhasledtoWinning,anewframeworktohelporganizationsreachtheirfullpotential,

groundedineightbehaviorsthatconsistentlyappearamongeliteperformers.Through

conversationswithchampionshipcoaches,Olympicathletes,teamexecutives,andothersatthetopoftheirfields,theresearchhasexploredwhatdistinguishesthosewhowinrepeatedly—andwhichofthoselessonscantranslatetobusiness.

InthefirstepisodeoftheWinningvideoseries,Goldstromintroducestheeightbehaviorsandexploreswhattheycouldmeanforleadersandorganizationsseekingtoraisetheirgame.

Thistranscripthasbeeneditedforclarityandlength.

‘Tattoowinning’

Thefirstthemewe’veseenforhowwinningteamsnotonlydominatebutcreatedynastiesis

whatwecall“tattoowinning.”There’sthisobsessioninthemindsoftheseteams,athletes,or

coaches:somethingwritteninindelibleink,whetherit’sanactualtattoooroneimprintedon

someone’smind.Theywakeupeverydaythinking,“HowamIgoingtogettothisgoal?”The

goalcanchangeovertime.Itmaystartwith,“IjustwanttobeintheOlympics,”andthenevolvefrom“Iwanttowinamedal”to“Iwanttowingold.”Butallofthesesuccessfulathletesand

teamshaveacleargoalimprintedonthem,andonetheyobsessovereveryday.

Oneofthethings[Americanfootball]coachNickSabansaysalot,andwhichIfindpowerful,is:

“Mediocrepeopledon’tlikehighachievers,andhighachieversdon’tlikemediocrepeople.”

Gettingthosetwogroupstoagreeonwhatthetattooofwinning,tome,isabitofafalsehope.

Weseethatalotinbusiness.Whentryingtogetpeopletoagreeonabigtarget,noonewantstooverpromiseandunderdeliver.Manypeoplewanttogetbyandbeaverage,butit’sspecialtostriveforsomethingdistinctiveorelite.Articulatingthegoalinawaythat’sdeeplymeaningfultothetopteambutcanalsocascadedownandgetpeopleexcitedishard,butit’simportant.

We’vealsoseenexamplesofpeoplewithaudaciousgoalswhoarecommittedtothemwithout

“rescueboats.”JavierBáez,agreatbaseballplayer,gotaMajorLeagueBaseballtattooonthe

backofhisneckwhenhewasyounger,beforehe’devenmadethemajors.Hispointwas:I’mnotwashingthisoff.Thisgoalispermanent,andI’mgoingtoachieveit.

Theaccountableplan

Thesecondelementweseeisthatthere’salwaysaplan.Howdoyoutranslatethattattoointogettingthereandachievingit?BobBowman,thegreatcoachfor[Olympicswimmer]Michael

Winning:Whatthebestathletes,teams,andcoachesdodifferently2

Winning:Whatthebestathletes,teams,andcoachesdodifferently3

Phelps,describeshisjobasbuildingtheplanthatenableshisathletetoreachtheirgoals.Atsomelevel,that’ssimilartowhatwedoasmanagementconsultants.

Anotherfamoustriathloncoachsaysagoalortattoowithoutaconcreteplanisjustawishoradream.Hisjobasacoachisn’taboutdreaming;it’saboutachievinganddelivering.

JeffGalloway,anOlympicathleteinthe1970swhopassedawaythisyear,isknownforhis

booksonmarathonrunningandtraining.Jefftoldpeople,“Ifyoucancometomerunningthreemiles,Icangetyoutoamarathoninsixmonths.”He’dbuildaplanoversixmonths,soyoucouldlookatitonanydayandsay,“Icandothat.”

Whenyouexecutetheplandailyforsixmonths,amazingthingshappen.CountlesspeoplehavegoneontofollowJeff’splantorunmarathons,includingmyself.

Anotherathletewe’llfeatureinanupcomingepisodeisKristenFaulkner,anamazingcyclistwhotalksaboutherT-shapedstrategy.ThebroadpartoftheTisallthedifferentcapabilitiesyou

needtobecompetitive.ThespikeoftheTis,“Thisiswhat’sgoingtoletmewin.”Whenyou

thinkaboutbuildingthisplan,youhavetofigureoutwhichcapabilitiesyouneedtoputinplaceandthendeterminewhatwillletyoudominate.

Thatalsotranslateswellintoourworkwithclients.There’sacomponentofwhatyoudodaily:

youractivities,Ganttcharts,orworkplans.Thesecondpartthatathletestalkaboutismetrics,

inputoroutput,whetherit’stheirpace,heartrate,orVO2max.Weshouldknowwhatmetricswearewatching.Athirdistheresults,whenyouseeittranslateintoyourtimeorintowinning.

It’salsoabouthowyoucascadetheplanthroughtheentireorganization,sothateveryonefromtheCEOtothefrontlinehasaviewofwhattheyneedtodotoday,tomorrow,nextweek,and

nextquarter.

Evolvingtheroster

Thethirdelementyousee,particularlywithteams,ishowyouevolvetheroster.Therearegreatexamplesofgeneralmanagersinsportsbuildingtheirrosters.ThinkofMoneyball—themovie

andthebook—andBillyBeane’sapproachtousingdatatoseparateluckfromunderlyingperformanceandtalent.

AsyoubuildateamandthinkaboutyourT-shapedstrategy,forthebroadsetofcapabilitiesyouneedtobecompetitive,youmightpayforthatdifferentlythanyouwouldforwhat’sgoingto

drivethespikethatletsyouwin.Ifyou’rearunningfootballteam,youpayupforyouroffensivelineandrunningbacktowin,andthereceiversmaynotbeasimportant.

We’veaskedclients,“DoesyourCHRO[chiefhumanresourcesofficer]actlikeageneral

managerofasportsteam?DoyouhavearoadmaptiedbacktothatT-shapedstrategy,the

Winning:Whatthebestathletes,teams,andcoachesdodifferently4

capabilitiesyouhavetoinvestinovertimetobesuccessful?”

AnotherelementofevolvingtherosterissomethingwecallatMcKinsey“talenttovalue.”

Certainrolesintheorganizationdrivedisproportionatevalue,andthey’renotnecessarilythehighest-paidormostseniorroles.Youknowthese20or30rolesaregoingtomakeyou

successfulorarecriticaltoachievingyourwinningvisionoverthenextseveralyears.

Onethingtiedtothat:Often,therolesthatdrovethemostvalueoverthepastfivetotenyearsaren’ttherolesthatwilldrivethemostvalueoverthenextfivetoten.CoachSaban,when

talkingaboutmediocrepeopleandhighachieversnotgettingalong,describedhisrolein

trainingasfiguringouthowtogettherightpeopleonthebusandthewrongpeopleoffit.ThesameistrueforaGM,aCEO,oraCHRO.

Seekinganedgeruthlessly

Thefourthelementiswhatwe’vereferredtoasseekinganedgeruthlessly:Howdoyougeta

littlebitbetter?Therearemanywaysathletesandteamsgoaboutit.There’sanelementof

lookingatdataandadvancedanalytics:thinkofbasketball’smovetowardthree-pointshotsandawayfromlongtwos.

Itcouldbeproductortechnologyadvances,suchascarbon-platedrunningshoesthatletyougo1to2percentfaster.ItcouldbeAIinformingyourstrategy.Butit’sallaboutthisdrivetogetalittlebitbetter.

RogerFederer,inhiscommencementaddressatDartmouthCollege,sharedthat,asoneoftheworld’smostdominanttennisplayers,hewon20GrandSlamsand80percentofhismatches,

buthadwononly54percentofhispoints.Whatstruckmewasthatgoingfrom50percentto54percentcreatedoneofthemostsuccessfultennisplayersofalltime.That’saverysmall

differenceleadingtoadisproportionateoutcome.

[USOlympicswimmer]KatieLedeckygaveafabulouscommencementaddressatStanford

University.ShesharedthatwhenshewasyounganddreamedofbeinganOlympicathlete,herfathergaveherastopwatchandtoldherthatracesaredecidedbyfractionsorhundredthsofasecond.

Inthebusinesscontext,weoftenhearpeoplesay,“There’snoopportunityhere”or“I’vedoneeverythingIpossiblycan.”Butalloftheseathletessay,“Onceyouhavethemindsetthatyoucan’tgetanybetterthanyouaretoday,that’swhenyoushouldretire.”

OneofthebestexamplesofseekingedgeruthlesslyistheNFL’sPhiladelphiaEaglesandtheir“TushPush”play.Youknowyou’vedoneagreatjobseekingedgewhensomeonetriestomakewhatyou’vemadesosuccessfulillegalorchangestherulessoyoucan’tdoitanymore.

Winning:Whatthebestathletes,teams,andcoachesdodifferently5

Theotherthingweseeisthatclientsoftenhaveaportfolioofinitiativesunderwaybecausetheboardasked,“WhatareyoudoingonAI?Whatareyoudoingonadvancedanalytics?”

Sometimesitfeelsmorelikescienceexperimentsthey’rebeingforcedtodo,ratherthanadeliberateportfolioofprojectsdrivingthespikeintheirT,oraportfolioofexperimentstheybelievewillgetthemacoupleofpercentagepointsbetter.

Therelentlessdatareview

Thefifththemeiswhatwecallobsessivedatareview.Alltheathletesandteamswe’vetalkedtolookatdatainwaysthatweren’tascommonafewdecadesago.

We’veseenatrendtowardusingreal-timeand“de-averaged”data.Togiveafootballexample,MondayfilmreviewafteraSundaygamehasalwaysbeenthenorm.Now,onthesidelines

duringagame,you’llseeteamslookingattabletstoseewhathappenedinthepreviousplay,essentiallyinrealtime.

Wearablesareanotherexampleofde-averageddata.MyGarminwatchwilltellmeitdetectedanabnormalityinmytemperatureormyHRV[heartratevariability]overnight:it’slookingat

hundredsofthings,butit’snotjusttellingmemyaverage,it’salsoflaggingdeviations.

Anothergreatexampleofreal-timedataandmonitoringisinswimming.AcompanycalledFormhascreatedswimminggogglesthatshowreal-timedataasyou’reswimming.TheAR

[augmentedreality]displaysyourpace,howmanyyardsyou’veswum,andyourheartrate,soyouknowinrealtimehowyou’redoing,lapbylap.Thedataflowsintoanappwhereyoucanreviewyoursplitsandgetascoreonhowtoimprove.

Whatwefind,inbusinessandinsports,isthatit’sthedeviationsthatreallymatter.Obsessivedatareviewofthemetricsthatmattermostforyourbusiness,inrealtime,whenyoucantakecorrectiveactioninthemoment,makesanenormousdifference.We’restartingtosee

companiesleverageAItodoexactlythat.Ifyou’vebeenwatchingtheFIFAWorldCup,you’veseensoccerplayerswearingreal-timemonitorssocoachescanseewhoneedstocomeout.

Inabusinesscontext,peopleareoftenreluctanttosharetheirmonthlysalesdataorratings.Insports,that’svisibletoeverybody.Forsomepeople,there’sanelementof“Idon’twanttoknowbadthings,”andthereareotherswhothink,“Iwanttoknow,butIdon’twantanyoneelseto

know.”

Acustomizedsystem

Thesixththingwe’reseeingistheideaofacustomizedsystem.InMcKinsey’stransformation

practice,we’velongfollowedaprocessbuiltarounddrivingresults,cadence,andmetrics,abitofaforcedmarch.Itisveryeffective,butalotofpeoplehateit.There’sanelementofneedingasystemtailoredtoyouandyourorganization,oneyouenjoyandthatgivesyoucomfort.

Winning:Whatthebestathletes,teams,andcoachesdodifferently6

Thatheldupinalltheinterviewswedidwithathletes.Theyoftentalkedaboutwhattheydon’tlikeandhowtheytrytomakethoseaspectseasier,suchaslayingouttheirgearthenight

beforetoreducefriction.There’salsothetreat:Afterahardworkout,they’llstopforasweettreatoracupofcoffeeattheirfavoriteplace.

Forpeopletostickwithasystem,theyhavetolikeit.That’sobviousatsomelevel,butinbusiness,forinstance,youhaveQBRs[quarterlybusinessreviews]andMondaymorningmeetings,butdoyouhaveacelebratorydinnerafterward?Howdoyoubringjoyintotheprocessalongsidethepartsyouknowyouhavetodo?

There’salsoanelementofsocialaccountability:presentingyourplananddataforeveryonetosee,whichreinforcesstickingwiththesystem.Formostenduranceathletes,consistency

matters.Intermsofimproving,it’sbettertohavesevenworkoutsthroughouttheweekthanoneHerculeanworkoutonasingleday.There’saproliferationofappsandsoftwarethatenable

consistencyandbuildacommunityaroundthem.AppslikeStravaorTrainingPeakscanworkwithtrainingplansandhavecoachestoassignworkouts,andwearablescaninformthepersonintraininghowwelltheyperformed.

Thewinningmindset

Theseventhnotionweseeisabouthavingawinningmindset,withfiveorsixcomponentsthatrecurredacrossourinterviews.Thefirstisbeinggritty,whichonepersondescribedasthe

antithesisoffragile.Ithinkofitasamaniacaldrivetobebetter,topersevere.

Thesecondmindsetisbeingstoicallyresilient:worryingaboutwhatyoucancontrolandsettingasidethingsyoucan’t.Ifyou’rerunninginarace,youcan’tworryabouttheweather,butyoucanprepareforit.Youcan’tcontrolwhetheryougetaflattire,butyoucanplanforwhichtireis

mostpuncture-resistant,orlearnhowtochangeoneintoughconditions.

Thethirdistobeadaptable.Withcoacheswho’vewonoverandoverandbuiltadynasty,thewaytheywonthethirdorfourthtimeusuallyisn’tthewaytheywonthefirstorsecondtime.They’vehadtoadjusttodifferentpersonnel,newstrategies,andcompetitorswhoadapt.

They’vehadtoadapttokeepwinningindifferentconditions.

Thefourthistobepositiveandgrateful.Mostworld-classathleteswe’vetalkedtoareglass-half-fullpeople.Thatmindsetportswellintobusiness:Whenyou’refrustratedwithyourjoboryourboss,ithelpstoremember,“I’mgratefultohavethisjobandtobeabletoprovideformyfamily.IfIcan’thavethatattitude,Ishouldgodosomethingelse.”

Thefifthmindsetisbalancingextremes.Faulkner,thecyclist,talksinherpodcastabout

knowingwhentotakeariskandwhentobeprudent.It’saboutbeingonaslipperydescent

duringaraceandknowingwhentogofullgasorwhentorecoverfromtraining.Noteverydaycanbeapersonal-recordday.

Winning:Whatthebestathletes,teams,andcoachesdodifferently7

Sixthisanalways-learningandcuriousmindset:avoraciousdesiretoread,study,reviewfilm,research,orlistentopodcastslikethisone.Theremustbeadesiretoalwayslookforwhatcanmakeyoubetter,recognizeyou’renotperfecttoday,andkeepanopenmind.

Inbusiness,there’salotthatcouldbedonetoscreenformindsetwhenhiringorevaluatinga

topteam.Manyemployerslookforformercollegeathletesforthisreason.Someofthismindsetshowsupinbehavioralinterviews:Medicalschoolessaysaskcandidatestogiveexamplesof

whentheywereresilient,orapieceoffeedbacktheyreceived.Inrealtime,ratherthaninanessayforwhichyougetmoretimetoanswer,it’spossibletogetasenseofone’smindset.

Thecoachingteam

Finally,I’veyettofindaworld-classathleteorteamwithoutacoachorsomelevelofhelp.Often,athleteshavemorethanonecoach.Ingolf,anutritionistandananalyticspersonhelpthegolferthinkthroughstrategies,suchaswhat’syourbestlay-uprange?

Oneoftheimportantthingsacoachprovidesiscandidfeedback,whichsometimesmeans

hearingthingsyoudon’twanttohear,andgettingreal-time,unvarnished