I’ve been passionate about rugby union since I was a child. I played it at school and watched it every chance I got, and later I became involved, firstly as a supporter and then helping as an advisor to Saracens. You meet some incredibly insightful people in rugby, and I’ve learned many lessons over the years that I’ve taken and applied to the business world.

With the Six Nations under way and a thrilling final round due on Saturday, once again I’ve been glued to it, naturally, and looking for the teams with an edge. As a fan I always love to see an amazing performance that blows the opposition away, but often that’s not what you see from the very best teams. François Pienaar, the former captain of South Africa and one of the many great people I’ve met through rugby, once told me that you don’t have to overwhelm the competition. You just need one point of difference!

If you look at the way South Africa won the last Rugby World Cup, you can see what he meant – the Springboks won their quarter-final, semi-final and the World Cup Final itself by a single point each time. Just be sure where you have an edge, no matter how small, and concentrate on making it count every time, and that should be enough to succeed.

That’s my mantra at Charles Taylor too; looking for the areas where we can make a difference and building the teams that can deliver success.

And it is about teams. I love the saying ‘teamwork makes the dream work’. I’ve spent a long time in business, and although most of the successes I read about focus on individuals who possess extraordinary talent and drive, the successes I’ve enjoyed the most and created the best business memories from have been all about teams.

Probably the most important lesson rugby has taught me is that collective success fuels individual success and gives everyone in the team a much stronger sense of achievement. The memories you create together as part of a team are what stay with you, and they aren’t about hitting budgets or getting a computer system installed on time. They’re about the things we achieved by working together to achieve better outcomes for our clients and how that felt as we achieved that success – the power of a shared, winning mindset.

At Saracens I have heard them talk about the wolfpack mentality, the way a team blends each member’s individual skills to form a tight unit that pursues common goals. It’s about being stronger together than as individuals – not relying on any one person to make the crucial tackle, but backing each other up for the good of the team.

Finding ways to nurture that mindset is important, and it’s something my leadership team are tasked with. We have an internal slogan, ‘Good things are happening at Charles Taylor’, which is a great way to reinforce that sense of buoyancy and encourage everyone to notice and highlight the positives. Teams thrive on success and positivity, in business just as much as on the rugby pitch.

I don’t want to give the impression that stars don’t matter. Every great team has its fair share of stars, and they play a massive role in its successes. But the team must always be bigger than its stars, because the thing you must remember about winning teams is that they don’t last forever, and as much as appreciating the team for today, you need to think about and be building the team for tomorrow at the same time. That way you ensure lasting success.

So, when you are part of a fantastic team, you should celebrate it and enjoy its success. However, use the collective achievement to futureproof success by helping the next generation of up-and-coming talents to experience their chance to be the star team of the future.

Rob Brown
Group Chief Executive Officer