In the history of scaling up, there’s perhaps no better human example than Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson.

In the late 80s/early 90s, Johnson and Owner Jerry Jones stripped America’s Team down to the single-hued Star logo that emblazons the Cowboys’ helmets, and rebuilt it from a dumpster fire into a dynasty. When he traded Herschel Walker on Oct. 12, 1989 (The Cowboys’ star running back), and the club parted ways with legendary coach Tom Landry, many in Dallas vowed to never watch the team again. Most would change their tune in the coming years.

Jimmy had a vision. He recruited the right people. He developed a strategy and executed it flawlessly. The results (back-to-back Super Bowl victories) speak for themselves.

Scaling Up is a business methodology taught by Dallas-based professional Mark Fenner, a good friend and consultant to Datamax Texas President David Rhodes. When asked about the basic tenets of the Scaling Up concept, Jimmy’s legacy comes to Rhodes’ mind. Because let’s face it…. The analogies that exist between football and business are unmistakable.

“I will parallel sports, and particularly football, a lot when I talk to people (about business),” Rhodes said. “It’s truly a team sport. You can have the best quarterback there is, but without a good offensive line? He won’t be a good quarterback for long because he’s going to get hurt. There’s offense, defense, and special teams, and it takes everyone to succeed. Here at Datamax we’ve got support operations, we’ve got service, and we’ve got sales. They all have to have the same vision, from the owner to the coaches, down to every team member, if they expect to succeed.”

Scaling Up helps provide structure to that sports analogy. It’s a powerful playbook. And whether he knew it or not, Jimmy’s work in Dallas followed that same architecture. Here are four major keys to Scaling Up.

Key 1: Attract and Keep the Right People.

Right Person, Right Job, Right Relationship. It’s a philosophy coined by Building Quality Companies, but it applies to Scaling Up all the same.

When Jimmy came to town, he strategically chose a group of assistant coaches who shared his vision to a “T.” One example is offensive coordinator Norv Turner. Prior to hiring Norv, the Cowboys’ offense plodded through two seasons, ranking 27th and 28th. But Norv understood Johnson’s vision and, understanding the personnel available, implemented a quick-strike passing scheme and the Cowboys’ offense exploded.
The Walker trade was a watershed moment. Eleven of their championship team players, including running back Emmitt Smith, defensive lineman Russell Maryland, and corner-back Kevin Smith, all first-round draft choices, are linked to the trade of Herschel Walker, and all hand-picked by Johnson himself.

“Johnson had a plan and a system, and got coaches (just like company managers) who believed in that system and developed players to deliver those goals,” Rhodes said. “Just like in football, you’re building a game plan to beat your opponent, and then you’re going to your players and ensuring everyone understands their role and they buy into the overall vision."

Key 2: Create a Truly Differentiated Strategy.

To say that Johnson had high expectations for the 1992 season is putting it mildly: Before the first game, he predicted that the Cowboys would go at least as far as the conference championship game.

The team’s successful stretch run leading up to their first Super Bowl victory proved exquisitely the very strategy that Johnson had been expounding—about conditioning, preparedness, discipline, and willingness to take calculated risks.

In May of 1992, Johnson dropped another less publicized strategic move. As though to emphasize their own dedication to excellence, Johnson and his coaches endured a seven-week diet and exercise program, each man putting up $500 to be forfeited if he failed to meet the goal set by a professional nutritionist.

This is where structured business plans come in, something Datamax management works hard to develop every single year. However, just as Johnson was quick to cut a player and make adjustments fast, Rhodes stresses that in a successful strategic plan, plans change.

“Your Business Plans are there, but until you execute them, you don’t know if it’s going to work or not. Definitely, there have been plans that needed to be slightly modified. It’s not unlike halftime adjustments in football. As a manager, it’s important to recognize when something’s not working, and then you get together, discuss feedback, and then adjust to another plan. You never want to be stubborn, in business or in sports.”

Key 3: Drive flawless execution.

Talk about execution. In 1992, the Cowboys were the least-penalized team in the National Football Conference. The offense ranked 2nd in points scored, and fourth in total yards. The Defense (Doomsday II as it was called), was only the third unit since 1980 to hold opponents to fewer than 4,000 yards.

Execution, for Rhodes, comes down to focus. And to truly focus, you’ve GOT to huddle up regularly.

“(Our executive team) in Texas gets together every morning at 8:30 a.m. for a quick 10 to 15-minute huddle. We discuss how the previous day went. What’s going on today? What is it that you want to get accomplished? It’s keeping the job at hand front and center.”

Key 4: Produce Results and Gain Profitability.

28 seasons later, the results from the 90s-era Cowboys (3 Super Bowl victories in 4 years) resound as loudly as they did the evenings they were earned (albeit with a little grumbling about the lack of success since). But because of the methodology Johnson committed to, no one would be less surprised than him. Johnson almost makes it seem simple.

“You’ve got to make sure that everybody’s putting in the work and you’ve got to have the discipline to go out there and get the job done,” he once said. “Everybody in your organization, if you’re going to be good, they have to be at their best.”

To do so, Rhodes argues, it’s constantly keeping track of progress.

“I have key performance indicators (KPIs) for Discoveries, appointments set, resolution and response times, etc.,” Rhodes said. “On every level down to the individual, it’s knowing these are the numbers we’re trying to hit on a daily basis. I don’t know how you know you’re getting better without measuring your progress.”

Business, just like football, will always remain a team sport. For every player, the questions become: What can we do TODAY? Are we focused? Are we ready to scale up our game? After all, just as Jimmy famously said…. The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra (effort).