Most of the theories I’d rounded up over the years about the nature of team greatness, such as “discipline” and “work ethic,” had the same fundamental problem. They were so abstruse I couldn’t think of any way to quantify them. Hiding in my notebooks, however, were five frequently cited qualities of superior teams that seemed at once both plausible and researchable. They are: the presence of an otherworldly superstar, a high level of overall talent, deep financial resources, a winning culture maintained by effective management, and, finally, the most widely accepted explanation of all—superior
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