Don’t stop reading after you see this week’s post is about the New England Patriots! This is about how to build teams. If you are a parent, a teacher, a middle manager, coach, politician, a non-profit executive, CEO - virtually anyone - this is the most important task you have: building an organization where everyone is pulling in the same direction to the ultimate goal. 

The case of the New England Patriots football team is a prime example of how this is done. Yes I know, football is riddled with racism and privilege, brain damage and unbridled wealth. I have written about it several times. I stopped watching football several years ago for these reasons after growing up with the game and playing it into college. And the Patriots are controversial to say the least.

But this is about how the Patriots built the most successful organization in sports history. How they did it is described in an excellent new book - “The Dynasty,’’ by Jeff Benedict. I have read every “insider’’ book about the Patriots. I have long been fascinated by the relationship between quarterback Tom Brady and his now former coach Bill Belichick. Benedict clearly secured the cooperation of Belichick and the team’s owners, the Kraft family. 

For those who don’t care - the Patriots have won six Super Bowl championships and become the model for success.  They are the Apple of sports. And they have done it by building a “team first’’ ethic during a time of selfishness and me-first riches and ego in professional sports. 

Somehow, the owners and coaches have convinced players to sublimate their egos for the good of the team, to care about something more than themselves. That is really hard to do in a world of Instagram. 

The Patriots program is not for everyone. Some players can’t make it there. The culture is either too demanding, too structured or too focused on the mission of the group vs. individual glory. Belichick released team captain Lawyer Malloy three games before the first game of the season because he found someone better. It’s cruel. They win the Super Bowl that year.

Read the book for the details. But here are a few anecdotes that tell the story and are lessons for leaders of any kind. 

• Bob Kraft is a successful business executive with season tickets to the Patriots who really wanted to buy the team. He finally got his wish with a huge risk - borrowing $173 million to buy the team and risking everything. Lesson: Take risks if you believe in something.

• Kraft hired Bill Belichick, a great assistant coach with a so-so head coaching record. But Kraft saw something in Belichick’s determination to build a team around the mission of winning. Lesson: Trust your gut.

• When players showed up to meetings late and resisted the sacrifice for the mission, they were fired, making way for team-first players to change the culture of the organization. Lesson: get rid of the people holding you and the organization back. Hire people dedicated and loyal to the mission. 

• All players and coaches were required to fly back from games on the team plane. No personal plans. Lesson: Team and mission come first.

• When Belichick had to choose between his star quarterback with a multi-million dollar, long-term contract and the second-year, wide-eyed kid named Tom Brady, he went with Brady, risking his own career and the fortunes of the team. Lesson: ignore the money and do what you think is best for the organization. 

• When players complained to Belichick about tiny hotel rooms before their first Super Bowl in New Orleans, the coach gave up his suite and moved into a tiny room. He convinced his fellow coaches to do the same. Lesson: Lead by example. 

• The team chose to be introduced as a team before the Super Bowl, eschewing the individual player introductions. When the NFL threatened to fine the team for breaking protocol and angering million-dollar sponsors, Kraft backed the team. Lesson: We are in this together. 

There is more. Every chapter has examples of how the Kraft family, Belichick and Brady put the team first. Brady has moved on to a new phase of career and life after 20 years with the Patriots. But the Patriots are still doing it this way. They won their first game of the season.