{"id":5918,"date":"2026-01-24T13:05:45","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T17:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=5918"},"modified":"2026-04-23T11:36:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T15:36:31","slug":"building-a-successful-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/building-a-successful-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a Successful Team: The Complete Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do you build a successful business<\/a> when the direction isn\u2019t fully clear yet? Start by putting the right people<\/a> on the team first. Research on great companies shows that who you hire matters more than which strategy you choose at the outset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Good to Great<\/a><\/em>, Jim Collins explains why assembling the right team lays the groundwork for building a successful business. Below, you’ll learn how strong team dynamics<\/a> support change<\/a>, encourage healthy debate<\/a>, and help leaders move faster by relying on people who are aligned, capable, and committed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Originally Published: December 25, 2019
Last Updated: January 24, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of Shortform\u2019s guide to success<\/a>. If you like what you read here, there\u2019s plenty more to check out in the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assembling the Right Team<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One principle behind good-to-great companies is that they recruit and retain the right people before <\/em>embarking on any specific program. Collins argues that when good people come on board before a new direction is unveiled, they\u2019re signing on because of who else<\/em> is on board. This means that if the company has to change direction down the road, these team members will stick with you\u2014because it was never about the direction in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Like Collins, entrepreneur Dan Sullivan says that building a successful team<\/a> is crucial to success. In Wh<\/em><\/a>o Not How<\/a><\/em>, he writes that putting the right people in place saves you time and energy by allowing those with the right expertise to tackle specific tasks. However, while Collins says that you should have people in place before<\/em> starting a program, Sullivan argues that you should first have a clear vision and purpose before building a team. Additionally, other experts say that if you do have to change the company\u2019s direction, it\u2019s not enough to rely on team dynamics to carry you through\u2014you should also clearly communicate changes<\/a>, recognize how they affect your team, and make an effort to motivate and retain top talent.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collins adds that a good-to-great team is composed of people who care deeply about the company and will argue passionately for the decisions they believe are right (but will come together to support whatever decision is eventually reached). At all costs, avoid the \u201cgenius with a thousand helpers\u201d model; management teams should be composed of independent and critical thinkers, not \u201cyes people.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: In Th<\/em><\/a>e Fearless Organization<\/a><\/em>, Amy C. Edmondson says many companies rely on a fear-driven management approach that discourages employees from speaking up or, as Collins says, turns them into \u201cyes people.\u201d To address this, Edmondson says you should establish a psychologically safe<\/em> culture that encourages people to speak openly and honestly. To create a psychologically safe workplace, she advises building employees\u2019 trust, communicating the value they bring to the company, redefining failure as an opportunity to improve, having forums where employees can speak up, and listening and responding thoughtfully to their input.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Achieve It<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To assemble the right team, Collins offers the following tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Don\u2019t hire until you\u2019re sure you have the right person. (Shortform note: In Built to Last<\/a><\/em>, Collins and Porras say that the \u201cright person\u201d is someone who\u2019s aligned with the company\u2019s core philosophy and has a good cultural fit.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) Recognize when you need to make a change (whether by shifting a role or letting someone go) and act swiftly. (Shortform note: The authors of First, Break All the Rul<\/em><\/a>es<\/a><\/em> agree that it\u2019s necessary to move or let go of poor performers to keep them from dragging down the group. However, they also acknowledge that doing so isn\u2019t easy and that it requires \u201ctough love\u201d: Being tough<\/em> means having high standards and consistently holding people to those standards. Showing love<\/em> means setting people up for success, which includes recognizing when they\u2019re not well-suited to a role and letting them know that their talents are a better fit for another position.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3) Assign your best people to your biggest opportunities rather than your biggest problems. That might mean taking a top performer away from a thriving division and transferring them to one you\u2019re aiming to grow. (Shortform note: Amy C. Edmondson offers a different perspective, saying you should make use of the best people for your biggest problems through teaming<\/em>. In her book<\/a> of the same name, she says that \u201cteaming\u201d means bringing people together in temporary groups that can collaborate effectively and flexibly, tapping into their expertise to respond to specific challenges. She says it\u2019s an alternative to traditional teamwork<\/em>, which can be too rigid for today\u2019s fast-changing environment.)

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How do you build a successful business when the direction isn\u2019t fully clear yet? Start by putting the right people on the team first. Research on great companies shows that who you hire matters more than which strategy you choose at the outset. In Good to Great, Jim Collins explains why assembling the right team lays the groundwork for building a successful business. Below, you’ll learn how strong team dynamics support change, encourage healthy debate, and help leaders move faster by relying on people who are aligned, capable, and committed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":5935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,14],"tags":[67],"class_list":["post-5918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-management","tag-good-to-great","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nBuilding a Successful Team: The Complete Guide - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to build a successful team and why this step may be the most important thing you do for your company, according to Jim Collins.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/building-a-successful-team\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Building a Successful Team: The Complete Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how to build a successful team and why this step may be the most important thing you do for your company, according to Jim Collins.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/building-a-successful-team\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-24T17:05:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-23T15:36:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/good-to-great-building-successful-team.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"827\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"523\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Doll\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Doll\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/building-a-successful-team\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/building-a-successful-team\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Katie Doll\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e1b539e89423b544ede91ab2bff937\"},\"headline\":\"Building a Successful Team: The Complete Guide\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-24T17:05:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-23T15:36:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/building-a-successful-team\/\"},\"wordCount\":783,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/building-a-successful-team\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/good-to-great-building-successful-team.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Good to Great\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business\",\"Management\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/building-a-successful-team\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/building-a-successful-team\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/building-a-successful-team\/\",\"name\":\"Building a Successful Team: The Complete Guide - 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