Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

I had the pleasure of attending an exclusive company event this week where executives were provided information on initiatives, goals, strategic imperatives and time to network, learn from each other and prepare for the next steps with the organization. It was a wonderful event by all accounts.

One of the many benefits this tremendous company offers is to bring world-class talent to inspire, educate and develop our people.  This year, we were fortunate to hear from Nick Saban. (We were also provided a copy of his book, How good do you want to be?)

By all accounts, Mr. Saban is a class act. He’s a championship winning coach but more importantly, beyond X’s and O’s, he’s a leader, a developer, a recruiter and a culture builder. He may have a reputation of being hard…but it was clear that he is hardest on himself:

•thinks much more about the 3 championship games his teams lost than the 7 his teams won

•starts planning for the next season the day after the championship game (no “celebration relief valve”- he credits this to his father instilling a strong work-ethic)

•was asked how he would describe himself in one word and he said demanding – because he’s a gentleman and didn’t want to use the first word that came to mind

He says there are 3 types of leadership

-Laissez-faire- take things as they are

-Transactional- very results-oriented

-Transformational-developing people/players to be the best they could be

It took him years to evolve from transactional to transformational.

He gave several examples of the development challenges even with top-notch talent. Here is one…

One of his star players passed a fraternity one afternoon and heard racial slurs directed toward him. The player defended himself and ended up in a squad car. The officer brought him to the coach instead of the police station, a deal worked out in advance. (Whether success-driven privilege or a proactive coach taking responsibility for his players, you decide.) 

He asked the player what he was thinking and the young man said he was raised to stand up for himself. Understandable, but…Coach Saban said, “Son, you will enter the NFL draft with your talent. You could go in the first round and make $30M a year or get an arrest on your record, go in the 3rd round and make $3M a year.”

The star athlete said “Coach, you’ll never have another problem with me.”

We don’t all have professional football talent or the financial opportunities that could be realized with good choices, but we each have the ability to embrace discipline, make sacrifices and maximize our potential. It’s not easy but it is attainable. How good do you want to be?

What choices are you making each day to realize your full potential?

Have a blessed weekend!

Eric