Executive Letter #19: Writing the Playbook

A lot of my early heroes were people I saw on TV, hitting home runs and making touchdowns—except, when I was growing up, we only had three channels to choose from.

On Saturday afternoons, Yankee baseball games were the only thing to watch. As such, Mickey Mantle became an important figure to me, as was Johnny Unitas watching the Baltimore Colts in the 60’s and 70’s.

Sports, like business, hold a special place in my life. I learned early on from playing all different sports in my youth, and now from decades building and running businesses of my own: they both require discipline, focus, and hard work to achieve a goal. 

So, why am I talking about sports? Well, for one, we’ve just come to the end of another football season, and like most in America, I just watched Super Bowl LVI where the Rams and Bengals battled it out in a close game in Los Angeles. Among the many stories that came out after the Super Bowl, a quote published in Sports Illustrated from Rams COO Kevin Demoff really caught my eye.

Talking about the Rams' Head Coach, Sean McVay, Demoff says, “He builds authentic relationships one on one... You get in a room with Sean; he’ll make you feel like the most important person in the room—even if he’s never met you. Elite communicator, great mind, developer of coaches, developer of people, passionate about culture, passionate about people, believes that people make all the difference in the organization. He had a phrase all year: We’ll win with our people."

I love this quote because it highlights something so important in sports and business. While you may have individual super stars, you only win if you play as a team, and developing every person on that team is key. This philosophy is just one example of how sports provide many parallels for the business world—particularly football. It’s why I read as many books by coaches as I do by CEOs.

Know the Plays

One thing that sports can teach us is the value of preparation, of practice, of putting in endless hours of learning both mentally and physically how to work as a team to win.

“There are no shortcuts to building a team each season. You build the foundation brick by brick.” -Bill Belichick

I’ve said before that one of the key reasons we are so rigorous with our hiring process is because one addition to the team affects the entire team dynamic. That’s why you can’t take for granted that the things you’ve built along the way will automatically continue as you expand your business and grow your company.

Workplace culture is one way that you prepare to meet the goals and roadblocks ahead. It’s also an incredibly sensitive thing that can go sour with just a whiff of complacency. And since company culture will be made whether you make it or not, it’s key to focus on creating a healthy environment that values ambition, integrity, and efficiency.

“We create a standard for how we want to do things and everybody's got to buy into that standard or you really can't have any team chemistry. Mediocre people don't like high-achievers and high-achievers don't like mediocre people.” - Nick Saban

Establishing high standards is key to business. The daily rituals are not always fun. Following strict protocols from beginning to end every time might become boring. But that way of thinking becomes an excuse that keeps you from getting results.

Discipline, including the hourly repetitions of tedious (but necessary) tasks, is not always an easy thing to talk about in business. And yet it’s the stuff of empires. Doing the right thing every time takes commitment, but it ensures that your ship is tight and won’t spring a leak when you hit rough waters.

Seizing the Moment

Using all of that preparation into weathering moments of high-stress seems straightforward, but requires just as much hands-on leadership as ever.

It also takes team members with real smarts.

“The good teams, the dominant teams aren’t necessarily dominant in stadiums, but they are dominant largely in moments, when they do what’s required to get out of stadiums with victories.” -Mike Tomlin

When we’re put in situations of tension, pressure, or volatility, it's easy to let your instincts go wild. We can try to rely on all of the muscle memory we’ve built, but ultimately we need a quiet, sound mind to tap into all of the adrenaline that’s running through us.

That control is a kind of intelligence that is nearly impossible to measure until it’s crunch time. It requires trust: trust that you have in your team, and that they have in you.

Will your team trust your call when it’s down to the wire?

Can you trust that your team will make the right call in the moment when the original plan goes to hell? When you can't be there to guide them? 

“What we do today makes a difference—the precious present moment.” -Nick Saban

Say you do win, whatever winning means in your entrepreneurship or investing. Then what?

You have to be willing to sit in that victory for no more than the time it takes to acknowledge your team and the work that went into earning the points on the board. Then, it’s back to the drawing board. Back to the tapes for review. Back to the practice arena for more drills.

You can’t let your team rest on their laurels or get a big head about what they accomplish. Humility and discipline are the only things that help winners stay winners.

Commit to The Grind

I’ll leave you with one more quote:

“Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all-time thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” - Vince Lombardi

Regardless of your level of football fandom, I hope I’ve painted a clear picture of just how many business lessons you can take away from the principles of the sport.

Now, it’s time to go, fight, win.

Until next time,

Kent Clothier
Chief Grind Officer