High Ten. Martin Rooney

Ten can help you build that type of team.”

       – Jeremy Bullins, NASCAR Crew Chief, Team Penske

      “Everyone knows culture is at the core of every great team, but few people know how to build it. High Ten is your blueprint for assessing and adjusting your current culture. If you are a leader in any capacity, let Martin help turn your team into a great group of fire-breathing dragons!”

      – Todd Durkin, MA, CSCS, Founder, Fitness Quest 10, CEO, Todd Durkin Enterprises, IDEA and ACE, Trainer of the Year, author of The Impact Body Plan and Get Your Mind Right

      “Culture is the backbone of any team or organization. A weak one will crumble, while a strong one will give a unified purpose to all and help you achieve your ultimate goals. High Ten will make your culture-game strong!”

       – Claus Souza, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, Denver Nuggets

      “Both hands on deck! Martin Rooney is once again on point and on fire. In his latest book, High Ten, he clarifies business culture, team productivity, and personal inspiration that you can take to a new level of success. This ‘story within a story’ will leave you and your team members blessed, changed for the better, and in position to win.”

      – Jeffrey Gitomer, bestselling author of Get Sh*t Done and The Little Red Book of Selling

      “The building of a team and a culture is driven by trust. Embracing and genuinely loving one another is the method by which trust is built. Martin Rooney's book shows you how to build the kind of trust necessary to create a winning team.”

       – Matthew Driscoll, Head Coach, University of North Florida Men’s Basketball, winningest coach in program history, three-time ASUN Coach of the Year

      “I've coached teams from four different nations and culture is the most important step in building a team. If the team is not on the same page culturally, working together toward a common goal is extremely hard. Let Martin's book help you find the Keepers and lose your Vultures.”

       – Todd Hays, Olympic Silver Medalist, Coach to 6 Olympic Medalists and 13 World Championship Medalists, Head Coach Bobsleigh Canada

       MARTIN ROONEY

      AUTHOR OF COACH TO COACH

HIGH TEN

      AN INSPIRING STORY ABOUT BUILDING GREAT TEAM CULTURE

Copyright © 2021 by Martin Rooney. All rights reserved.

      Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

      Published simultaneously in Canada.

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       Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Rooney, Martin, 1971- author. | John Wiley & Sons, publisher.

      Title: High ten : an inspiring story about building great team culture / Martin Rooney.

      Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : Wiley, [2021] | Includes index.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2021011332 (print) | LCCN 2021011333 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119806165 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119806189 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119806172 (epub)

      Subjects: LCSH: Corporate culture. | Personnel management. | Mentoring. | Coaching (Athletics).

      Classification: LCC HD58.7 .R665 2021 (print) | LCC HD58.7 (ebook) | DDC 658.4/022—dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021011332

      LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021011333

      Cover Design: Wiley

      Cover Image: © PremiumVector/Shutterstock

To the great Dr. Rob Gilbert, who taught me the best person on the team is the best person for the team.

Foreword

      Bottom line – great leaders focus on establishing great cultures! In High Ten, Martin Rooney tells an inspiring story about how to build a great team with a great culture, and he shares lessons and insights that will work anywhere: at home, in the military, on sports teams, or in corporate America. In the Army, our leaders are expected to provide purpose, direction, and motivation to their soldiers, and as commanders they are explicitly responsible for the culture of their units. But the very best commanders find a way for those in the unit to also “own” the culture – so it's everyone's responsibility. Martin drives this point home and then some.

Throughout my Army career, I've learned and observed that when building a culture, the foundation is character and values. These are essential to building trust, which leads to cohesive teams. Teams where people feel like they are part of something, not just in something. Teams that are loyal to one another and also to their values. Teams that are disciplined and whose standards exemplify excellence, and they hold one another accountable in meeting or exceeding those standards. Doing otherwise would be an acceptance of mediocrity, and that doesn't equate to winning on the battlefield, playing field, or in life. Strong cohesion also results in extraordinary resiliency, and teams that are able to absorb