Explore an Uncommon
Approach to Leadership!
The Ability To Learn
“The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have.”
– Sheryl Sandberg, Former COO of Meta
Steve Kerr - What Coaching Brings Me
Coaching has unlocked the best version of myself…
"Coaching has unlocked the best version of myself," he told me in March. "I have to constantly be evolving, thinking, growing. I have to work on myself, learning how to be kinder and gentler to myself the same way I am with others. And I've had to learn to fight this very human instinct that I'm not good enough. Like most people, I'm insecure. I want to be great but I don't really know if I am or not, but I've learned the value of just being really kind and competitive at the same time. I've lived this charmed existence, an amazing life, a blessed, fortunate one, but I've also been through some s--- with my dad's death and my own health the last decade. I think I'm scared that I will lose that daily engagement and purpose that not only feeds my soul, but helps me deal with my literal chronic daily pain. If I knew I could retire and go do the physical stuff that I love, it would be a lot easier. But I can't do a lot of that stuff anymore. So I'm scared of being at home without the constant engagement and friendships that coaching brings me!"
Ben McCollum - What First Place Looks Like
“This is what first place looks like.”
https://x.com/coachajkings/status/2037148748170539450?s=20
“You can tame a fool quicker than you can resurrect a corpse.”
Mark Daigneault - When They Need You
“You have to be there when they need you.”
“You have to be there when they need you.”
John Henry - Decision Making
“He is not set or hardened or entrenched in a point of view. A lot of people, especially people who have had that kind of success, get to this point and they fit facts to support a conclusion. He really has a very open, almost Socratic way of processing things.”
A good look at Red Sox owner John Henry and his approach to decision making.
“He is not set or hardened or entrenched in a point of view. A lot of people, especially people who have had that kind of success, get to this point and they fit facts to support a conclusion. He really has a very open, almost Socratic way of processing things.”
Dawn Staley - Truth
Tell the truth, even when it costs you comfort. We're in the business of winning. And winning built on half-truths is fragile; it cracks under pressure. Real leaders choose honesty over image, because trust, not talent—is what holds a team together when things get hard. - Dawn Staley
Dusty May - Point At What It Looks Like
“Point at what it looks like.”
Some great stuff here from Dusty May on anticipating the problems that derail teams and talking about how to fix them ahead of time.
“Make your most important decisions in air conditioned rooms.” - Chip Kelly
“Point at what it looks like.”
Steve Kerr
"You knew they cared about you. You could feel that they loved you and they cared about you. But you were a little afraid of them."
Steve Kerr talking about the one quality that made Greg Popovich and Phil Jackson so special.
The Jockey and The Corner Man
Dan Hurley talks about the different personalities he takes on with his team between practices and games.
Dan Hurley talks about the different personalities he takes on with his team between practices and games.
Bold Action
"The true mark of a leader is the willingness to stick with a bold course of action…”
"The true mark of a leader is the willingness to stick with a bold course of action — an unconventional business strategy, a unique product-development roadmap, a controversial marketing campaign — even as the rest of the world wonders why you're not marching in step with the status quo. In other words, real leaders are happy to zig while others zag. They understand that in an era of hyper-competition and non-stop disruption, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for something special." -Bill Taylor
“Work While You Wait”
https://x.com/JLucroy20/status/2029766844152713694?s=20
Good stuff from Tony Robichaux, University of Louisiana baseball coach, who recently passed away.
Kelvin Sampson
“Kids want to be coached… they do.”
“Kids want to be coached… they do.”
https://x.com/thewinningdiff1/status/2024805955431461232?s=20
Celtics Film Sessions
A cool inside look on Joe Mazzulla asking his players to engage in the scouting report.
A cool inside look on Joe Mazzulla asking his players to engage in the scouting report.
I’m always at my best when I listen to my players.
4 Levels of Competitors
Robert Saleh on the four level of competitors: Commanders, Competitors, Contenders and Survivors.
Robert Saleh on the four level of competitors: Commanders, Competitors, Contenders and Survivors.
https://x.com/titansfilmroom/status/2013664267472445764?s=20
Bennett Stirtz
“He looks like the guy who mows your lawn.”
“He looks like the guy who mows your lawn.”
Confrontation - Kelvin Sampson
Confrontation is an essential part of high-performing teams.
Confrontation is an essential part of high-performing teams.
Ben McCollum
“I don’t really pay attention because it’s not something that is going to benefit me. It’s not going to help us improve.”
“I don’t really pay attention because it’s not something that is going to benefit me. It’s not going to help us improve.”
Mark Cuban Invests in Cignetti
For Mark Cuban, Indiana’s championship was a familiar business lesson: teams with clear leadership and repeatable systems tend to win.
From Inc.Com:
For billionaire entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban, backing Indiana’s football program was like a Shark Tank investment. Rather than chasing star power or flashy spending, Cuban said he was drawn to a disciplined system and proven leadership, traits he typically looks for when backing founders. That mindset helped turn a long-overlooked program into a national champion.
For Cuban, landing Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti was like “investing in an entrepreneur on Shark Tank,” according to a recent interview on ESPN’s First Take.
“He’d been there, done that, and he had an approach.” What stood out, Cuban added, wasn’t a grand vision or a promise to outspend competitors, but a clear, repeatable system.
“He didn’t come in and say, ‘I’m going to do all these grand things,’” Cuban said. “He just said, ‘This is how we do it. I have a specific way. It’s always worked.’”
A rejection of grandiosity runs counter to current college football norms, where NIL and the transfer portal have ignited bidding wars between top programs. But this rejection is exactly what Cuban believed in.
“It wasn’t about designing a program that just went out and tried to outbid everybody,” he said. “It was putting together a program and an organization and a culture, all the things you need to do to win, no matter what the sport is”
Excessive spending, according to Cuban, is not a means to success. “When a program does that, that’s a desperate program,” he added, dismissing the idea that success comes from something like landing the most expensive quarterback.
Instead, Cuban emphasized strategic spending and clearly defined roles, principles familiar to any founder scaling a business. “It’s not about winning the portal,” he said. “It’s about getting athletes who know their role, will work to fill that role, and understand their position with the team.”
Like a well-run company, the program succeeds not because every player is a star but because each individual has distinct strengths that work together with the distinct strengths of the others’.
It’s the ability to create this cohesion that initially drew Cuban to Cignetti. “The fact that he has a system, the way he designs everything, the way he builds organizations, that’s really what connected me,” he said.
For Cuban, Indiana’s championship was a familiar business lesson: teams with clear leadership and repeatable systems tend to win.