How the Patriots endure high success while acting like a Temp Agency
Over the last 18 years, the New England Patriots have won 6 Super Bowls and have been to countless championship games.
Their success has been unmatched by any other NFL franchise in the last twenty years. Of course, there have been hiccups and some problems that may interfere with success.
However, the Patriots seem to minimize the negative effects. As a business owner, emulating what they do may give you unprecedented success as well. In the wise words of Bill Belichick:
Every year the Patriots start the season with many different players. There’s a lot of “employee turnover” in the NFL, and it is all based on performance. Every off-season, the Patriots cut, sign, and re-sign players to multiple-year contracts or one-year contracts. Most of the time, the money is not guaranteed. For almost all of the players, making the 53 man roster is critical for their life and career. Let’s take a look at what, by definition, a temp agency is. A temp agency “provide workers to a variety of businesses via short-term contracts or indefinite temporary positions”. Every year the Patriot must have 90 players under contract in the Spring and bring them into Training Camp to see if they can make the team. The Patriots are notorious for constantly bringing many players in and out throughout the season. For example, in the 2018 season, the Patriots made thirty-six moves at Receiver alone… for one position! That revolving door expression is loud and clear in Foxboro!
The Patriots have very high “employee turnover” and it works for them because of their management team. I would not condone having high employee turnover as much as the Patriots do. Many businesses use temp agencies to get off the ground and make sure processes are in place. However, in April, most businesses complete employee reviews and they make decisions about employees. Sometimes those decisions are regarding employees that are no longer adding value to the company and that is where employee turnover can occur.
The Patriots have also shown they can have high sustainability just like many major companies. Examples are Ford, Amazon, or Apple. Ford has been the longest running company of my examples and the Patriots have been around since 1960. They are one of the oldest teams in the league. However, their successful window of dominance has only been the last 18 years, and for that they are more like Amazon and Apple. Amazon is on a skyrocketing trajectory and looks like they will dominate the market for years to come. That was like the Patriots winning 3 out of the 4 Superbowls in 2001, 2003, and 2004. The Patriots already proved to be a dynasty in four short years but have shown that with the three pillars of this franchise — Robert Kraft, Tom Brady & Bill Belichick — they can achieve almost anything.
Apple is very sustainable and has been the top phone company for years and the Patriots have been like that in the world of the NFL. Whenever a team looks like they will take down the Patriots for top dog in the AFC, it rarely happens. For example this year the Patriots went 11–5 and had a losing record on the road. The Patriots had to go to Kansas City with the rest of the NFL praying they go down. This year proved the Patriots weren’t threatened by anyone, as they went on to win their 6th Super Bowl — and seemingly won’t be threatened for at least a couple more years. The same goes for Apple. Their biggest competitor is Samsung and at some points have looked like they would take Apple down. However, that hasn’t happened… yet.
The Patriots on to Number 7! Let’s Go!!
