Know the Rules or You’ll Never Win

Why clear procedures, accountability, and execution are essential for high-performing teams

Growing up, I had an affinity for both fighting games and strategy games. To be clear, I said affinity—not that I was particularly good at them. Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat dominated time with friends, while Final Fantasy became my solo adventure. Learning the ins and outs of each game felt like a full-time job. Studying combos for Ryu and Chun-Li or figuring out how to unlock the Masamune sword consumed an absurd amount of free time. When I finally achieved those milestones after hours of grinding, the sense of accomplishment was unmatched—at least until I discovered the next challenge waiting for me.

Games are engaging because they operate within a defined set of rules. There are boundaries, point values, and predictable sequences that allow players to plan ahead and react quickly. Understanding those rules is essential to progress—especially after failure. Clear rules make a game enjoyable and keep players coming back, chasing both the joy of victory and the frustration of defeat on the path to becoming the ultimate champion.

If rules and procedures aren’t clearly defined at your workplace, you risk being stuck in a never-ending level of a video game—one where you can’t win, can’t exit, and can’t figure out what to do next.

Standard Operating Procedures, or SOPs, exist to prevent exactly that. They define how tasks are accomplished—by individuals and by teams—by prescribing tools, information sources, roles, and sequencing from start to finish. SOPs should be accessible, current, and deliberately maintained. When used properly, they become a streamlining mechanism that allows organizations to operate efficiently with minimal oversight.

When SOPs are missing where they should exist, predictable problems emerge. One of the first is the rise of fluid power. Organizational hierarchies exist for a reason—to clarify authority and responsibility. What they should not create is an environment where rules are invented on the fly and subordinates are held accountable to standards that were never defined. How can someone do something “wrong” if the right way was never established?

SOPs eliminate that ambiguity. They clarify roles and responsibilities up front and create a shared baseline for accountability. When something breaks down, teams can point to the procedure, identify where execution failed, and correct the issue constructively—rather than defaulting to vague statements like, “You did that wrong.” If someone claims a task is “so easy an SOP isn’t necessary,” yet the task continues to struggle or fail, that’s your signal to insist on one. Accountability may make people uncomfortable—and that’s fine. You’d be surprised how much better work would be if everyone simply did their job.

Another consequence of missing SOPs is wasted or misdirected energy. Think back to a strategy game scenario: your team encounters multiple enemies with different abilities. If everyone attacks the same target while ignoring defensive actions, the team quickly finds itself overwhelmed. Entering that fight with a plan—balancing offense and defense—dramatically increases the odds of success.

Well-designed SOPs work the same way. They account for all parts of a task, keep everyone synchronized, and eliminate unnecessary actions. Only what matters remains. But SOPs carry a non-negotiable requirement: everyone must execute their assigned role. If people selectively comply—or ignore steps altogether—the SOP is worthless.

A final issue created by the absence of SOPs is misaligned views of task progress. When someone says, “I’m late,” what does that actually mean? Late according to whom? Relative to what milestone? An SOP establishes timing and tempo so everyone understands whether a process is ahead of schedule, on track, or falling behind. Great teams distinguish themselves by communicating early and often against those shared expectations—and by helping teammates recover when something slips.

If you care more about team success than individual success, an SOP becomes a lighthouse: a fixed point to navigate toward when conditions are rough and visibility is poor.

There’s a quote I’ve always appreciated: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Even the best plans can fall apart under pressure, and character is revealed in how teams adapt. But that quote doesn’t argue against having a plan. Plans—and SOPs—prove that analysis occurred, contingencies were considered, and responses were thought through in advance. That preparation is invaluable.

SOPs belong in high-performing teams. They are built on trust, discipline, and a shared commitment to execution. The dungeon won’t clear itself. So rally your party, equip the right tools, and take on the final boss together.

-----------------------------------------TEAR LINE--------------------------------------------

• You can’t win if the rules aren’t defined. Teams without clear procedures, roles, and expectations waste energy reacting instead of executing.

  
  

• SOPs aren’t bureaucracy—they’re clarity in action. When the right way is defined up front, accountability becomes fair, constructive, and effective.

  
  

• Execution depends on discipline and trust. SOPs only work when everyone does their part, allowing teams to adapt, recover, and win together when conditions get tough.