(Article was originally released in December of 2018) Last spring, the Villanova men’s basketball team blasted the University of Michigan 79-62 to win their second national title in three years.  During the net cutting ceremony, a reporter interviewed several of the Wildcat players.  This video, while long for some (7:53), is my favorite clip of 2018.  We get a raw peak at an elite culture.     Here are my top ten takeaways from the video: Villanova’s Championship Culture: 1.  Win with People: The players reference “the great group of guys” seven times in the clip.  The word “love” is mentioned three times.  Talent is important.  The blend of the right talent and great people creates champions. 2.  Gratitude is Present: The player’s easily and frequently used: “thank you,” “please,” and “sir.” You could feel their gratitude for being a part of something special. 3.  Defense Wins: Defense and rebounding was mentioned five times. Donte DiVincezo, the tournament MVP, scored 31 points in the game but his first comment was how he had to learn how to play the defensive side of the ball.   4.  Face Adversity: You could tell individually and collectively the group faced challenges and obstacles.  Adversity will always be there.  It’s how groups choose to respond.   5.  Role Players aren’t “Role Players”:  The second unit of Villanova didn’t just maintain, they brought energy and saw themselves as starters.  To win at the highest level, everyone must decide to dominate their role.   6.  Selfless: I didn’t hear one person talk about themselves and they were quick to mention others.  In fact, you could sense the joy in their voices as they spoke of their teammates.   7.  Winning is hard: “There was a lot of hard work and a lot of tough moments.  We’ve been coached and everyone stepped up.”  Everyone says they want to achieve at a high level.  Very few know just how much sacrifice goes into it.   8.  Process not the result:  It is mentioned twice how they never focused on winning a championship or “blowing someone out.”  They did focus on playing hard, fast and together.   9.  Internal Competition: One young man, mentions the battles every day in practice.  Championship programs are loaded with talented, tough and committed players.  If you want to win big, you better be ready to compete. 10.  It’s not about any one person: If you want to be a star and receive all the limelight, you probably should avoid a championship culture.  The system is the star.  You give up a lot as an individual for the ultimate jubilation of winning championships.   Very rarely do you get a raw, unscripted video like this.  It shows the buy-in necessary to achieve elite level results.  Sure, this video and article have a slant toward basketball but many of these characteristics are found in high functioning organizations in every field.  Please feel free to get in touch if you’d like to discuss with me further!