Our Dutch team passed me an interesting link(Dutch) to an investigation done by Hay Group. Over 5.500 employees from Germany, France, UK and the Benelux were interviewed. Their conclusion: massive employee migrations (59%!) will hit the market! That’s a big difference compared to last year. The recession caused a lot of frustration.

I talk to hundreds of business people from different sectors regularly and I can only confirm that what I hear matches the investigation and matches my believes:

• People in great teams make the difference
• Talent is only an Olympic minimum. Everybody has some kind of talent.
• What creates real Olympic Business Champions:
• Motivated people
• Focused teams
• Great networks

I have worked for one corporate company with an awesome people culture: Telindus. I’ve experienced the difference between a good company and a great company. And the difference is huge! A few years ago Telindus was bought by Belgacom, and the “kick ass culture” disappeared in a few months time. Amazing no? Was it the building? Was it the strategy? Was it the products? No: it was the people.

At Hercules Trophy, our crew is crucial. It’s fantastic to see how they look forward to the event and enjoy the party after a day of hard work. It’s great to see how they connect with the fans, how they have fun, how they promote the event and how proud they are to be part of the crew. And they should be! I’m not saying that every crew member is on the same level, but the great ones lead the way and the bad ones are eliminated automatically. I’m convinced that any company can create this kind of atmosphere.

During customer contacts, I can easily sense which companies are doing great and which ones are probably facing problems. Typical negative indicators:

• “I don’t see the value of teambuilding”
• “150EUR per person all-in is expensive for a networked teambuilding.”
• “Why should I connect on an emotional level with my customers and suppliers?”
• “People don’t want to do anything for my company during the weekend”
• “People don’t want to do sports with other team members”
• “People don’t want to come to a party with their colleagues”

I can only advice company owners, managers and employees to do something about it. Start with yourself. Start to lead by example. Every day is a new day to change. It requires a lot of leadership and humor, but the results are amazing if you manage to do it right.