The most erroneously used word in sports and business is… “TEAM.” The word team is so loosely thrown around that I often find myself wanting to dig deeper anytime someone uses it to describe their relationship to colleagues.

I’m willing to bet there are a number of things most of you would rather do than stare at Microsoft Excel spreadsheets on a daily basis. But what if the data contained in those rows and columns could give you “World Championship” status—or at the very least an edge over the competition? Imagine having a well-documented tally of previous performance results for all employees or co-workers and being able to use that information to predict sales slumps, prevent snags in production, or progress to the highest stage in your industry.

In the world of high tech, Carl Eschenbach’s is a name synonymous with explosive growth. As the longtime president and chief operating officer of VMware, he helped the company go from 200 employees and $30 million in revenue to 20,000 employees and $7 billion. During that sometimes challenging uphill ride to success, Eschenbach developed what he affectionately calls his 4 C’s that he counsels any executive to manage.

Life is full of plot twists, isn’t it? One moment you are having your Employee of the Month award framed, the next you’re getting knocked to your knees and praying you to keep your job. Imagine putting together a lengthy career that includes long hours at work—in many cases being the first one in and the last to leave. You’re in a good groove, hitting your numbers week after week—pouring more and more value into the team, and then suddenly you’re taken off of the company’s biggest client.