How to Build High-Performance Teams

In today’s fast-paced world where juggling family, faith, and a thriving business can seem impossible, Dave Durand’s story stands out as a beacon of inspiration. As a best-selling author, leadership strategist, and serial entrepreneur, Dave has mastered the art of building high-performance teams and successful companies while nurturing a deep commitment to family and faith. His no-fluff approach to influence, culture building, and decision-making has transformed countless professionals, CEOs, and sales teams.

This article dives into the core insights Dave shares about leadership, personal development, and the delicate balance between professional success and personal fulfillment. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, leader, or someone seeking clarity in life, these lessons will equip you to sell more, lead better, and become the best version of yourself.

Balancing Family Life and Building a Business Empire

One of the most remarkable aspects of Dave’s journey is how he managed to raise nine children while building companies that reached billions in sales and were sold for nine-figure sums twice. Contrary to the common narrative where business success comes at the expense of family, Dave emphasizes that work and family life can actually build each other up.

His story is not without challenges—he went through a divorce and became a single father—but maintained an unwavering commitment to his children. Dave shares a vivid example of his daily life: cooking spaghetti dinners for 30 kids on a soccer team, picking up children from school, and planning birthday parties—all while leading a large organization. This level of dedication stems from his faith and the clarity it provides, allowing him to focus intensely on both family and business without sacrificing either.

The Role of Faith in Clarity and Focus

For Dave, clarity in life and business is deeply rooted in his Catholic faith. He describes himself as an imperfect yet devoted believer who goes to confession weekly, which keeps him grounded and aligned with his values. This faith-based framework ensures that he acts with authenticity and integrity, being the same person inside the boardroom as he is at home.

"When I die and face God, He is absolutely without question going to hold me more accountable to what I did with my family than I did anything else."

This accountability to a higher standard creates mental clarity and a "free soul," enabling Dave to focus sharply on his work and family. He believes that this alignment between faith and leadership enhances influence, decision-making, and culture-building within organizations.

Discovering Your Purpose Through Business and Personality

Dave’s entry into business was shaped by a unique blend of intuition about people and a desire to understand human nature. Unlike his engineer father and brothers, he gravitated towards business because he realized he had a natural insight into how people think and behave. His first real taste of sales came during a summer selling Cutco knives, where he began to see the connection between personality and success.

Over 35 years, Dave has studied personality extensively, drawing from scientific models like the Big Five (OCEAN) personality traits—openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. He also explored neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and hypnotherapy early in his career, but eventually shifted his focus to a deeper understanding of virtue and vice in leadership.

His core leadership philosophy centers on building teams with high virtue and low vice, which he sees as essential to creating strong cultures and effective organizations.

Hiring for Virtue, Not Just Skill

When it comes to recruitment, Dave stresses the importance of identifying virtue over just technical skills or personality types. Traditional interview questions like "What is your biggest weakness?" often lead to rehearsed or dishonest answers. Instead, Dave prefers open-ended questions such as:

• "Tell me about the most recent time you sacrificed for somebody." 

This question reveals much about a person’s character, their understanding of sacrifice, and their willingness to put others first—key indicators of virtue.

Dave also explains the ancient idea of the four temperaments—choleric, sanguine, melancholic, and phlegmatic—and how each comes with natural virtues and vices. For example, a choleric person is driven and conscientious but can bulldoze others to get their way. Recognizing these traits helps leaders amplify virtue and minimize vice within their teams.

Building a Culture Rooted in Humility and Growth

Culture is often talked about but rarely understood in depth. For Dave, culture is not a catchy slogan or a one-time event; it’s a “daily diet of goodness” that requires consistent effort and intentionality.

His company, Best Version Media, perfectly encapsulates this philosophy. The core idea behind the company is simple yet profound: encouraging everyone to be the best version of themselves. This culture fosters an environment where people feel safe to work on their flaws without judgment while striving for excellence.

Dave’s leadership principles for culture include:

• Humility: A realistic and precise understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses.

• Fun-loving Spirit: Enjoying work and fostering camaraderie.

• Compassionate Heart: Caring deeply for others in the organization.

• Strong Professional Will: Owning failures and successes alike and holding oneself accountable.

He also highlights the importance of recognizing primary motivators such as love, fear, and pride, and how these influence behavior in the workplace.

Low Turnover and High Engagement

Dave’s approach to culture resulted in less than 2% voluntary turnover among employees—a remarkable achievement. By being upfront about the culture during interviews and clearly communicating expectations, the organization attracted people who wanted to grow personally and professionally.

The Wisdom of Ancient Virtues and Modern Science

Dave draws heavily on ancient philosophy and theological studies to inform his leadership approach. He references Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, which argues that happiness comes from living a virtuous life and maintaining good friendships.

He also discusses the cardinal virtues—prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance—as foundational to decision-making and leadership:

1. Prudence: The mastery of decision-making.

2. Justice: Acting rightly by desiring what is good, knowing what is real, and doing what is good.

3. Fortitude: Courage and perseverance grounded in justice and prudence.

4. Temperance: The ability to resist temptation and maintain self-control.

Dave stresses that these virtues are not abstract ideals but practical tools that can be applied to everyday leadership challenges. For example, fortitude is not reckless risk-taking but courageous persistence aligned with what is good and just.

Money, Wealth, and Purpose

As a successful entrepreneur, Dave shares his perspective on money and wealth. Inspired by his upbringing—where his parents instilled values of humility and service—he views money as a tool for doing good rather than an end in itself.

He often quotes from a 4th-century bishop, St. John Chrysostom, who wrote that money is only good for the good it does, and attachment to wealth is a problem. Dave practices detachment from material possessions and has always prioritized tithing and giving back.

"I have to give credit to the grace of God and my parents for keeping my attachment to money under control."

Moreover, Dave believes that wealth enables people to make a greater impact, citing examples like Tom Monahan, founder of Domino’s Pizza, who used his wealth to build a Catholic university and support charitable causes.

The Power of Influence and the Transcendent Desires

At the heart of Dave’s teachings is the concept of influence. He argues that most problems in life—whether at work, home, or community—boil down to a lack of influence. Without influence, people struggle to get promotions, sell products, or even have their voices heard.

Dave is developing a seminar on optimizing personality to maximize influence by aligning with universal human desires known as the transcendentals:

• Goodness 

• Truth 

• Beauty 

• Unity 

• Home 

These transcendentals represent the deep, unquenchable desires common to all humans, regardless of background or beliefs. Dave explains that meeting these desires in a workplace or personal environment creates a culture that feels authentic, fulfilling, and motivating.

Living with the End in Mind

One of Dave’s most powerful pieces of advice is inspired by Stephen Covey’s principle of "beginning with the end in mind." He encourages people to think beyond immediate gratification and to prepare for the ultimate realities of life, including what happens after death.

He references Pascal’s Wager, a philosophical argument that suggests believing in God is the safest bet with the greatest potential gain and least risk. He also highlights Viktor Frankl’s work in Man’s Search for Meaning, which emphasizes that those who find purpose beyond themselves endure hardships with resilience and hope.

For Dave, living with this perspective brings mental health, peace, and the motivation to contribute meaningfully to the world.

Conclusion: Becoming the Best Version of Yourself

Whether you’re building a startup, leading a team, or simply striving to grow personally, embracing the principles of humility, sacrifice, and intentionality can transform your path. As Dave reminds us, the goal is to be the best version of ourselves—not perfect, but always improving.

To learn more about Dave’s work, including his best-selling book Leading Giants and his ongoing projects, you can explore his content on YouTube at Durant on Demand and follow him on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Remember, success is not just about what you achieve but who you become in the process. Start your journey today to build influence, cultivate virtue, and live with clarity and purpose.

Watch this full episode on YouTube.