By Stewart Langdon
It’s a brave angrez indeed who would tell an Indian audience that it could learn something from the England cricket team. After all, even after such an exciting victory on Sunday, Ben Stokes’ Bazballers still face four more tests against a formidable Indian side that has only lost one test series at home in the last 19 years. Surely, Rohit Sharma and his boys will rebound to deliver a few lessons of their own? Well, in cricketing terms, maybe so. But for India’s executives, this England test team is worth taking a closer look at.
Stokes and his Head Coach (Brendon McCullum) have engineered one of the most extraordinary turnarounds in sporting history. Prior to their appointment, England were trapped in a hopeless death spiral, winning only one of their previous 17 tests. Under new leadership, England’s fortunes reversed course, winning 14 of 18 tests without losing a series. This of course includes last weekend’s victory, itself a turnaround story after India led by 190 runs at halfway.
This creates an intriguing case study for anyone engaged in a difficult turnaround or any type of change management. Even amid India’s fast growth, there are plenty of turnarounds pending, from Bangalore’s cash-guzzling former unicorns to the daunting privatisations being undertaken by India’s braver corporates. So how did the England revolution happen and what can we learn from it?
England’s new leadership did not engineer this radical change by telling the players how to bat or bowl better. A new book (by Laurence Booth and Nick Hoult) shows that Bazball is primarily a cultural revolution. They play with the freedom to express themselves with giant grins on their faces, whereas two years ago they would troop to the crease like condemned men on their way to their execution.
Culture is important to business performance. Warren Buffet’s famous assertion that “culture eats strategy for breakfast” is a truism. But culture change is supposed to be difficult and painfully slow. How then can England have turned around culture so fast?
First, they are clear about their objective: Entertain. Far from sacrificing sporting success to achieve this, they believe this gives them the best chance to win. In the midst of difficult change, a business can focus excessively on the needs of lenders and shareholders. Staff and customers can be forgotten. But happy workers who aim to thrill customers will probably deliver a better outcome for everyone. In business terms, Bazball is a way of aligning profit (winning) and purpose (entertaining).
Clarity in objectives is part of a pattern of simplicity in communication. In the midst of a business turnaround owners and managers might be tempted to over-complicate issues as they try to untangle a history of underperformance. But when McCullum explains Bazball he makes it sound incredibly straightforward. Simplifying the thinking for your team is a superpower.
Second, whilst Stokes and McCullum are both tough characters, they have shown a deft touch with their man management skills. Turnaround kings are normally imagined as tyrants, prone to ruthlessly firing underperformers in the blink of a 90mph delivery. But England’s leadership support struggling players. In the dressing room McCullum is usually found sitting with the duck-makers rather than the centurions. Empathetic leadership means that players on a difficult run know that the leadership have their backs.
Third, England are crystal clear on their risk appetite. Draws are not of interest. No blocking if a target is on the table. Crucially, all stakeholders buy into this. Often, those engaged in business turnarounds feel anxious about uncertainty and therefore tend towards the lower risk option. Getting all stakeholders to accept the risk of failure often yields more exciting opportunities.
High risk does not mean recklessness. Rather than overanalysing shot selection and technique, Stokes wants his players to walk to the crease with their minds uncluttered, their instincts sharp and ready for battle. Managers who find themselves under increasing pressure to engage in data-led decision making, especially in the age of AI, sometimes need to step away from the spreadsheets.
A higher risk appetite comes with the reality that the plan is not fault proof and requires resilience and patience. When England followed three initial victories with a heavy loss to South Africa in 2022, the Daily Telegraph (a paper so influential in English cricket circles that some players think it picks the team) led with the headline “SO MUCH FOR BAZBALL”. It takes self-belief to face down such criticism and stick to the plan.
We will soon discover whether England have the chutzpah to pull off the ultimate cricketing accomplishment: a series win in India. If they don’t, my Whatsapp will doubtless be busy with taane from my Indian friends. Regardless, the story of Bazball as a rare cultural turnaround success story should intrigue business leaders in India and elsewhere. The challenges your business faces may be profound. But clear objectives, astute man management and an appetite for risk can reverse your fortunes rapidly, as your team starts having fun. Who knows, they might just start hitting your competitors for six.
Stewart Langdon, Partner, LeapFrog Investments. Views are personal.