What can high-performing sports teams teach us about building winning businesses?

I have always loved sport. Not only the spectacle, but the planning behind it. I have done my share of early morning runs, the Comrades Marathon, and a few IRONMAN races. Sport teaches you about goals and discipline. What grips me, though, is how great teams are built. Look at the Springboks under Rassie Erasmus, or the way Sir Alex Ferguson had Manchester United start every match one goal up in their heads. The players were talented before the trophies. The shift came from leadership, innovation, bench strength, and clarity of roles. That is culture.

Adam Kelly, Group Chief Commercial Officer at Richfield

In business, the same rules apply. Data gives you the picture and removes guesswork. But data is still historical. It cannot play the next phase for you. Leaders and teams must make informed decisions in the moment, using the best available information. I ask people to use data to frame the decision, then back their judgment. If the intent is right and the call is grounded in the facts at hand, we bank the learning whether it lands or not. Coaches do this every match. You have a plan, the opposition shifts their game plan, and someone needs to decide whether to kick, carry, or move it wide. Business is exactly like that.

Continually adapting

Winning businesses also try new things and move quickly when the evidence changes. It comes down to testing with intent, learning fast, and then correcting just as quickly. In entrepreneurship, this is called failing forward. But do not turn a lesson into a habit.

People are at the centre of all of this. I have never believed that the best 15 rugby players on paper give you the best team. The fit matters more than the CV. We set a clear shared goal, then give small, accountable teams room to operate. The closer you are to the work, the better feel you have for the conditions. That freedom must be paired with ownership. Some business units will overshoot, and others will fall short. However, the business still wins if the objectives are met. It is the same logic as asking a fly-half in rugby or a striker in football to play their roles differently to reach the same scoreline.

Beating the opposition

Continuous improvement keeps you honest. Competitors are not standing still. Many are backed by serious investment and continually upgrade their brand, product, and channels. If you are as good next year as you were this year, you have probably fallen behind. You must look for the one percent gains that add up to a step change. Sometimes it is a tiny tweak on a page. At other times, it requires a more significant process change. Review what worked, double down on it, and fix what did not. There is always something to improve.

If I had to pick one lesson that travels best from the field to the boardroom, it is culture. A coach cannot play for the team. A leader cannot make every pass. Culture is the glue that turns professionals into a side that covers more ground because they care deeply about the person next to them. Think of that Manchester United team in 1999. Not the best on paper, but relentless for each other. When people trust the plan and each other, they go the extra mile. What sets that team apart, and the Springboks in recent history, is that the players care for each other. That is when the space closes for your competitors, and average days still end in wins.

It's this collaborative culture that has taken Richfield from its humble beginnings in 1990 to the leading private tertiary institution in South Africa for business and IT degrees. Today, Richfield has eight premium campuses and over 12,000 students and continues to grow, driven by a culture of success and care.

Great teams are built, not found. Use data as your baseline, back good judgment, recruit for fit, give people room to step up, and keep learning even when you are winning. Do that, and you give your business the same edge that great sides find when the match is tight, and the clock goes deep into added time.

By Adam Kelly, Group Chief Commercial Officer at Richfield