Why Your Business Structure is Holding You Back
Ever watched a football team where everyone’s chasing the ball, leaving gaps everywhere? Or an NFL team with no clear playbook, just running random routes? That’s what most growing businesses look like.
No structure. No defined roles. No actual strategy for winning.
A company scales when every player knows their job. When the sales team isn’t firefighting, the tech team isn’t scrambling, and customer service isn’t just cleaning up the mess left behind. The problem? Most leaders don’t build their teams like this.
They expect the entire company to “just work harder” rather than creating clear roles, alignment, and execution.
Here’s how real teams win, and why your business should work the same way.
Sales = Your Forwards (Strikers & Wide Receivers)
The goal scorers. The ones who make the plays that win games.
In football, they’re the ones putting the ball in the net.
In NFL, they’re the wide receivers making the big plays.
In business, they’re your sales and marketing team, bringing in leads and closing deals.
But here’s where most businesses get it wrong.
They rely too much on these players. A great striker doesn’t win the league alone. If they’re not fed by midfield, they’re ineffective. If they don’t trust their defence, they hesitate.
A sales team without a strong midfield and defence is playing a losing game.
Tech & Operations = Your Midfield (The Playmakers & Quarterbacks)
This is where the game is controlled. The link between attack and defence.
In football, midfielders dictate the pace, distribute the ball, and break up attacks.
In NFL, the quarterback is the decision-maker, scanning the field and executing the right play.
In business, this is your tech & operations team, keeping everything running, building systems, and ensuring strategy turns into execution.
If your business is too sales-heavy, you’ll burn out your ops team, making promises the company can’t fulfil.
If it’s too tech-focused, you’ll over-engineer solutions without selling enough to sustain them.
Midfield connects the entire team, but if they don’t know their role, the whole system collapses.
Customer Support & Services = Your Defence (Centre-Backs & Linebackers)
No great team wins without a solid defence.
In football, they stop counterattacks and build from the back.
In NFL, linebackers shut down the opposition’s offense and keep the play tight.
In business, this is your customer support and service team, keeping customers happy, fixing problems, and ensuring long-term success.
Defence doesn’t always get the credit. But when they’re missing, everyone feels it.
If your customer service is weak, you’re leaking goals, losing customers as fast as sales can bring them in.
Great teams win because their defence isn’t just reacting, it’s anticipating, adjusting, and leading from the back.
So, What’s the Play Here?
A winning business team doesn’t just hire talented people, it builds a system where each player thrives.
Sales (Forwards) – Win deals, but don’t get isolated from the rest of the team.
Tech & Ops (Midfield) – Control the pace, execute the play, and keep strategy moving.
Support & Service (Defence) – Protect the company, ensure customer success, and close the gaps.
The best teams don’t have players doing the wrong jobs. Your business shouldn’t either.
So, the real question: Do you have a team built to win, or just a group of people running in different directions?