According to business coach and sports advisor Michael Lee Stallard, Lombardi understood decades before it entered the corporate lexicon that being either "task-oriented" or "relationship-oriented" alone was insufficient for a winning formula. Instead, managers who are able to focus on both task excellence and relationship excellence – which Lombardi felt complemented and strengthened each other – are able to achieve much higher levels of success for their teams.
According to Stallard, Lombardi also rejected underhanded and unethical behavior on the field in favor of character and virtue, and encouraged his players to "love each other" as part of his relationship-oriented strategy. It certainly worked for Lombardi's Packers and might be effectively adapted to today'steam-building innovation.