1. LEADING THOUGHTS
2010 – 2011

2. LEADING THOUGHTS 1 (7)
of Team Academy Finland
9th of Feb 2011
1 WHY DO WE NEED LEADING THOUGHTS?
Leading thoughts are always born from within. They are important, above all, for ourselves.
Together we review and, if necessary, revise them annually. They serve as a source of
inspiration, and they are founded on mutual trust, self-discipline, and pride for our
accomplishments.
Our leading thoughts express what we are fighting for and why we exist. It is the duty of
Team Academy’s coaches and team entrepreneurs to maintain them. Our leading thoughts
are our guidelines as we strive to become the leading Team Entrepreneurship Centre of
Excellence in Europe. The most important thing to know is who and what you are, because as
the world changes, so does your destination.
Our purpose is to create the future, not predict it. We have created a community where people
work together to reach a shared goal. Team-companies are the foundation of this community,
so their coaching must be effective and of the highest quality.
We give time and attention to each individual and team-company, because Team Academy is
as strong as its weakest link. Abiding by our leading thoughts and accepting the challenge
they pose are vital for Team Academy.
We must find people who are enthusiastic about our thoughts and are willing not only to stand
for them but also to follow them in practice. There is a language that everyone all over the
world understands. It speaks about inspiration and work driven by love, determination, and
striving to reach something that we hope for and believe in.
In Jyväskylä, 1st of April 2010
Team Academy’s team entrepreneurs and team coaches
© Team Academy Finland 2011
www.tiimiakatemia.fi

3. LEADING THOUGHTS 2 (7)
of Team Academy Finland
9th of Feb 2011
2 T E N G U ID E L IN E S F O R T E A M E N T R E P R E N E U R S
1. Take the initiative, search for instructions.
2. Learn to manage chaos. It is the first step in your creative process.
3. You are allowed to make mistakes. You can learn from them.
4. Focus your energy on solutions, not on worrying about problems.
5. Do your best and set your goals high.
6. See opportunities, not obstacles.
7. Dare to experiment and to be yourself.
8. Smile, enjoy, and leap in.
9. Be humble and recreate your success again and again.
10. Respect others and make use of the experience and knowledge already inside Team
Academy, so you don’t end up reinventing the wheel.
“If you have an idea, say it out loud and start doing it.”
- An unknown Team Academy student in 1993
© Team Academy Finland 2011
www.tiimiakatemia.fi

4. LEADING THOUGHTS 3 (7)
of Team Academy Finland
9th of Feb 2011
3 VALUES
1. Relationships, Building and Maintaining Partnerships
Our personal relationships with each other, our families, and customers are necessary
requirements in business, which runs on creativity, trust, respect, and transparency. We give
and receive constructive feedback and develop as human beings.
2. Team Entrepreneurship
We grow into team entrepreneurship through continuous coaching and cooperation. We coach
ourselves to create our own workplace. There is power in networks. We know and understand
our responsibility for our environment and we help one another.
3. Continuous Experimenting and Creating Something New
We break boundaries and boldly do things we have never tried before. We seize opportunities
without prejudice.
4. Learning by Doing and Practicality
At Team Academy we learn to apply the newest theories into practice according to the ATP
Model, interacting with our customers and networks. We take responsibility for our own
actions and our team. Actions speak for themselves.
5. Travelling and Internationalism
You have to go far to see close. We search for new operating models everywhere we go, to
apply them to our own work. We make use of Team Academy’s international network. We
travel a lot, because we want to be international operators on every continent. In this way we
learn even more and faster.
© Team Academy Finland 2011
www.tiimiakatemia.fi

5. LEADING THOUGHTS 4 (7)
of Team Academy Finland
9th of Feb 2011
4 P R IN C I P L E S T O C O M P L E M E N T T E A M A C A D E M Y ’S V A L U E S
1. The Individual’s Responsibility
Everything always starts from the individual. Team entrepreneurs must earn their membership
in their team-company every day. Freedom entails responsibility. Therefore we do not blame
others, only ourselves.
2. The Nature of Our Work
We learn and achieve results in our team-companies in cooperation with our customers. Our
way of working is fun, productive, and transparent.
3. Team Entrepreneurship
Every team-company must assess what additional value it brings to Team Academy. We
develop ourselves in team-companies, where everyone helps one another. Our goals and
performance define the way we work.
4. Information Flow
Every team entrepreneur must understand the big picture of our operations, create new
knowledge, and spread it across borders.
5. Learning
New insights spring from dialogue, discussion, and sharing experiences, as well as from
observations, books, and practice.
6. Our Heritage
We foster our culture and will leave a heritage for future team-companies.
© Team Academy Finland 2011
www.tiimiakatemia.fi

6. LEADING THOUGHTS 5 (7)
of Team Academy Finland
9th of Feb 2011
5 M IS S IO N
At Team Academy, we learn to be team entrepreneurs with the help of our team-companies
and customers. In short: we boldly create team entrepreneurs.
6 V I S IO N
By 19 November 2037, Team Academy’s vision is to be the world’s leading Centre of
Excellence in its field.
By 19 January 2013, Team Academy’s vision is to be the leading, boundary-breaking Team
Entrepreneurship Centre of Excellence in Europe.
7 ANNUAL THEMES
2010 – The year of External Networks = Which networks do we wish to belong to and build?
2011 – The Year of Learning from Customers = How can we increase shared experiences and
joint production with our customers?
2012 – The Year of Learning European Business = What kind of shared projects are we doing
with the Team Academies around Europe?
“No successful organization has ever been born without a shared vision!”
- Peter Senge
© Team Academy Finland 2011
www.tiimiakatemia.fi

7. LEADING THOUGHTS 6 (7)
of Team Academy Finland
9th of Feb 2011
8 OUR GOAL
Every team entrepreneur will take a trip around the world with the money made in his or her
own projects, and with the help of Team Academy’s international network. It is the team
coaches’ task to keep the goal clear in sight, and team entrepreneurs are to encourage each
other toward the goal.
9 T E A M A C A D E M Y ’S E X P A N D E D M I S S IO N
We are removing unemployment from Europe while revolutionizing team entrepreneurship,
team learning, and team leadership.
We are abolishing old structures to pave the way for a new, entrepreneur-led society. Team
entrepreneurship offers individuals of new communities the opportunity to take their destiny
into their own hands and allows them to work for themselves.
Our methods conserve nature, lead to sustainable development all over the globe, and foster
community spirit through team entrepreneurship.
“We must be the change we wish to see from the world. That requires us to be courageous
and single-minded.”
- Mahatma Gandhi 1947
© Team Academy Finland 2011
www.tiimiakatemia.fi

8. LEADING THOUGHTS 7 (7)
of Team Academy Finland
9th of Feb 2011
10 NEW IDEAS CREATED BY TEAM ENTREPRENEURS
1. Responsible business is characteristic of Team Academy.
2. We are sincerely happy when other teams succeed.
3. During the first year, we focus on supporting other teams, thus laying the foundation of
success: humility. We help each other and participate in shared events.
4. We do a lot of cross-pollinating and foster an outward attitude.
5. To develop Team Academy’s community spirit, we launched Tiimiakatemian ystävät ry
(the Friends of Team Academy Association).
We put all these thoughts into practice every day.
© Team Academy Finland 2011
www.tiimiakatemia.fi