08/28/2026
Figo. Zidane. Ronaldo. Roberto Carlos. Raúl. And that summer, Beckham.
Six of the best football players on earth used to be in one team at the same time.
They then went three straight seasons without winning a thing.
The part people forget is what else happened that summer. They also let go of the one player nobody outside the club ever talked about. No goals. No posters. No shirt sales. His entire job was making everyone else's job work.
The stars stayed stars. The team stopped functioning.
I hear the business owner's version of this constantly:
"My accountant, my lawyer, and my financial advisor never talk to each other."
It's rarely said as a complaint. It's usually said as an observation — almost an apology, like it's normal and they're being fussy for noticing.
It isn't fussy. Your accountant is optimising last year. Your advisor is optimising the portfolio. Your lawyer drafts what he's asked to draft. All three can be genuinely excellent and the result can still not work, because coordination was never anyone's job.
That's not a talent problem. It's a shape problem.
You don't need better players. You need someone holding the shape.
