The Companies Pulling Ahead in 2026 Aren’t Hiring Better People

Years ago, when I was coaching Division III baseball, I started noticing something.

The talent across many teams was remarkably similar.

In baseball, the biggest difference-maker is usually pitching. And the truly elite pitchers often aren’t playing Division III baseball anyway.

So I started asking myself a question:

Why did certain programs consistently win while others struggled year after year with essentially the same talent pool?

The more I thought about it, the more I started seeing the same pattern everywhere.

Professional sports.
Businesses.
Organizations.

Every NFL team has elite athletes.

Every Major League Baseball roster is filled with professional talent.

Yet some organizations consistently win while others consistently underperform.

At some point, talent stops being the differentiator.

Leadership becomes the differentiator.

Culture becomes the differentiator.

The organizations pulling ahead are usually not relying on a few stars to carry everything.

They develop stronger systems.
Stronger trust.
Stronger accountability.
Stronger ownership across the entire team.

That’s where The 90% Advantage lives.

Not simply in top performers.

But in how organizations develop the people quietly carrying the culture every single day.

The employees who:

• consistently show up

• support the team

• protect stability

• reinforce standards

• influence culture when nobody is watching

Too many organizations still rely on pressure as their primary performance strategy.

Push harder.
Move faster.
Do more with less.

And for a while, that works.

But pressure creates short-term compliance.

Ownership creates long-term growth.

The organizations separating themselves right now are learning how to create environments where people feel:

• trusted

• developed

• connected

• challenged

• valued beyond performance metrics alone

And when that happens, performance changes naturally.

Not because employees suddenly became more talented.

Because leadership elevated the talent that was already there.

Maybe the question is no longer:

“Do we have talented people?”

Maybe the better question is:

“Are we creating an environment where talent consistently performs at a higher level?”