Upon taking over a losing program, one of Jedd Fisch's first acts was to change the coaches' offices. This symbolic gesture immediately communicated that the old ways, which produced failure, were over. It was a tangible, non-negotiable signal that a new era had begun before achieving any results.

In a turnaround, a leader's most critical first step is restructuring their direct reports. McLaren's CEO replaced every key leader—CFO, HR, commercial, etc.—to create a unified group that could then drive cultural change down through their own departments.

Focusing on "bad to great" is more effective than "good to great" when scaling. Bad behaviors and destructive norms are so corrosive that they make it impossible for excellence to take root. A leader's first job in a turnaround or scaling effort is to eliminate the bad—like dirty bathrooms or incompetent employees—before trying to implement the good.

When inheriting a failing team with no recent wins, leaders can't sell past performance. Coach Jedd Fisch's success at Arizona came from building deep, "transformational" relationships and articulating a future vision, rather than focusing on "transactional" benefits which didn't yet exist.

Zak Brown's first move at the struggling McLaren F1 team was to overhaul the leadership team, bringing in fresh blood to create alignment before tackling technical or commercial issues. This established a new, winning culture from the top down.

Before pursuing complex, innovative strategies, teams must first ensure they are above the 'negligence line' on core fundamentals. For a basketball team, this means being competent in rebounding and turnovers before trying to get 'cute' by perfectly optimizing three-point shots.

Dan Schulman prioritized fixing Verizon's risk-averse, hierarchical, and inwardly-focused culture as the first step in its turnaround. He believed that fostering a "play to win" mindset was the necessary foundation before any strategic or operational changes could succeed, moving the focus from the network to the customer.

The 2004 Red Sox won by blending homegrown talent with a few strategic free agents. Startups should apply this model: build a strong core by promoting from within, as internal talent is often underrated, and then surgically add experienced external leaders where necessary.

CEO Zach Brown revived McLaren not by firing everyone, but by transforming a "toxic work environment" into one of transparency and collaboration. He kept many of the same long-term employees, showing that fixing culture can unlock the potential of an existing team, even in a high-stakes environment.