BOOK OF THE WEEK: "You Win In The Locker Room First" by Jon Gordon

In a collaborative effort between Jon Gordon and former Atlanta Falcons Head Coach, Mike Smith, the two co-authored book about building winning teams. 

Sports are not about the x's and o's and competitive strategies on the playing surface. It's much more than that. The most successful teams are not only one's that have the best players; the teams that find success are the ones that win inside the locker room. The entire team has to buy into the message the coach is putting out there. 

While reading this book, it reminded me of the past semester and working with the Harvard women's swimming and diving program. From the outside looking in you can identify their philosophy is built around being a team and it trickles down from the coaches to the captains to the rest of the squad. As a coach, you may be recruiting the top athletes, but more-so you want to recruit good people. 

Throughout the course of a long season you're going to be around your teammates a lot, which makes chemistry paramount. If you recruit a superstar but "their personality doesn't mesh with the team culture, then they beat you ever day; whereas if you let that person go on to another program then maybe they beat you once a year." It's building a team that you can win with every day and recruit people who fit the culture you want to set. 

It’s all about people.

Hire good people.
Trust good people.
Follow good people.
Play with good people.
Chat with good people.
Work with good people.
Argue with good people.

The rest will figure itself out.

— Imry Halevi (@imryh) May 29, 2020

Many teams have achieved success using this model. Professionally, one can look at the New England Patriots. For two decades, it's always been the "Patriot Way" of operating and if a superstar player didn't quite fit the mold they were quickly pulled aside and mentored by a veteran (i.e. Randy Moss) or they were shown the door (i.e. Antonio Brown). 

I can point to a few college programs who have achieved team success using this model and I look towards three high-caliber Division III softball programs in the Boston-Providence area - Simmons University, Emmanuel College and Johnson & Wales University. While only one program has won a conference title in the last few years, success is far from just winning championships and receiving accolades.

"Success is defined by setting goals and feeling satisfied those goals were achieved." 

Every team at the beginning of the year - no matter the sport - sets out to win a championship. That's everyone's big goal, so you as the leader of the team need to create smaller incremental goals that will lead to the big goal.  If you do all the little things right, they will eventually lead to bigger and better things - hence the term "Little Drops Make Big Drops" and you will success will be achieved. 

Bonus points that don't quite fit with the rest of the post: 

•  Guarding against complacency - making sure everyone is still hungry and willing to constantly improve and innovate. Nothing kills a team more than getting complacent. 
• Past failure does not determine future failure - reminds me of what longtime Harvard women's basketball coach Kathy Delaney Smith said that the HBS "Sports as a Classroom" panel last fall with "failure being the fuel to success." 
• The purpose of sports is to develop better human beings and who have the ability to change the world. 
• Everyone wants to feel cared for, so get to know your team as people and see them more than just a number. 
• Care about the work you do and the services you provide. The top organizations care deeply about their work. 
• Commitment starts at the top and get out and walk around to meet your employees in their environment. No job is beneath you. 

BLOG: "One Team One Dream"

It was a phrase we used to say in the office to lighten the atmosphere and way to brag about the academic success of our student-athletes.

"We were the Harvard of the NECC" was the phrase used in referencing how Newbury College had more student-athletes on the academic all-conference team than any other member institution. We weren't being serious. Newbury and Harvard could not have been further apart. 

Harvard was the prestigious, well-respected beacon of higher education and students attending were all at the very peak of their high school class. On the athletic side, Harvard - a Division I institution - was rich in it facilities and fitness centers. Compare that to, Newbury where most of the students were first-generation college students, possibly working full-time and attending college in hopes for a better future. To say Newbury, a Division III school and a member of the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC), had very little resources would be an understatement. It had no on-campus athletic facilities and coaches and student-athletes hopped in 15-passenger vans to its home athletic contests at Hellenic College and Pine Manor College. Sometimes home events would be 30 to 45 minutes away in Brockton or Nashua, New Hampshire. 

From the outside looking in, the worlds of Harvard and Newbury could not have been further distanced. Or so we all thought. 

Having spent time at both places, I've come to realize that this is not the case. Harvard may have had better facilities, and students that were present with greater opportunities and tutors growing up, it is not all that different than Newbury.  It's the people that make Harvard great, just like it was the people who made Newbury great. 

At Newbury, the athletic department was a team and we coined the phrases "one team one dream" that we all lived by. It's what drove us. Flash forward to January 2020, I was speaking with an associate athletic director and bring up the phrase and she immediately thought it was a cool phrase. Not too long afterward I brought it up with the associate head coach of women's swimming and diving, she loved it too. 

I thought that was the end of it, but last month after announcing captains for the 2020-21 academic year and posting on Instagram that same associate head coach used the hashtag #oneteamonedream. 

Who would've thought something from a small Division III institution would provide so much inspiration to place like Harvard? But when you really think about it, it's about the people. It doesn't matter what division the school is, if the students get 4.0 GPA and 1600 on the SATs or 2.6 students with a moderate 1000 on the SAT. All that matters is the people who are making that educational experience a positive one. 

A lot of things in life trickle down from the top-tier organizations, but sometimes, the most important things rise from lower organizations. It doesn't matter if it's a Division III school or an Ivy League institution, it's alway come down to the people. Hire, trust, work and play with good people and you will have an outstanding organization. 

Book of the Week: "The Seed" by Jon Gordon

Another Jon Gordon book? Really? I know what you're thinking do I read anything else? Well, yes I do, but Jon's a really good story teller with a great message of remaining positive through difficult situations. Many of his books are quick reads, but they never fail to disappoint and "The Seed" was no different.

We've all found ourselves at a crossroads at work when sometimes that work you are doing is seems to be repetitive and you've lost your "why." Well that is the situation that Josh found himself in when his boss gave him an ultimatum, take two weeks off and when he comes back he should have a decision if he wants to return or move forward.

The book is a reminder how we, as humans, have the tendency to be looking ahead of our current circumstances. Whether it is looking forward towards the future or backwards at the past, happiness will always be evasive. But when you live in the moment, the present, you will always find happiness in your life and work.

When Josh returned to work, eventually under a new moniker - Joshua - as well as promotion, he lived by three principles: 1. never being too busy to help a fellow team member; 2. being the hardest working person on his team; 3. writing and singing words of encouragement to increase team morale.

Every single person has a role to play at work and feel valued for their role. It is what makes a winning team. It is also something, the past few months at Harvard, I've tried to model. Whenever a fellow colleague needed assistance, whether it was at a game or soliciting help for a game, I want to help in any way possible. Most of the time it led to a collaboration of figuring out a workable solution so everyone was as happy as possible.

It is why I had no qualms about working a "triple-header" of two lacrosse matches and a basketball game on what turned out to be the final college game of the spring 2020. It was a long day, but I knew our women's lacrosse contact was appreciative of the assistance, so he could prepare for his men's hockey quarterfinal game later that evening and our men's lacrosse contact, who was with women's basketball.

Once you find out what your role, and it takes awhile to figure out what it is and your role can change, it truly does give you a sense of purpose. 

Book of the Week: "Drive" by Daniel H. Pink

While reading this book I was reminded of the the pilot episode of House M.D where Dr. House was having a conversation with his supervisor, Dr. Cuddy. Cuddy wanted House to do his required hours in the hospital clinic, but Dr. House quipped back quoting the famous Rolling Stones song "as the philosopher Jagger once said, 'you can't always get what you want.'"

Of course as any boss would be, Cuddy was stunned and taken aback, but found retribution later in the episode after looking up this "Philosopher Jagger." If you're unfamiliar with the Rolling Stone song, right after the third line of "you can't always get what you want," is "but if you try sometimes, you get what you need."

Well what does this random House quote have to do with anything from the book "Drive?" Simple. It's about motivation.

You do eventually get what you want. In the House-Cuddy example, Cuddy wanted to House to do what was required of his job and work clinic hours - she got what she wanted. She just had to figure out HOW to get it. That was her motivation. And motivation is everything.

Motivation is what drives us to do what we do and act how we act. If we want something so badly enough, we will eventually get it. It is also what, in the work world, is the toughest for managers.

It used to be simple, managers and supervisors would dangle a carrot on string (something of value to employee, usually money or a promotion) and the employee would do the job. That is what Daniel Pink describes in the book as Motivation 2.0. It is based on the idea of compliance.

But, today, motivation has shifted. As humans we are not designed to be passive and compliant, but to be active and engaged. We are curious beings and we seek out flow (a state of being where our challenges match our skill sets) in our every day lives.

I'm reminded of a scenario, earlier this year at the Ivy League men's swimming and diving championships. We were between sessions on the final day of the championships. It had been long four days for everyone involved, but as the final night of the championship was approaching, a swimmer was standing at the edge of the pool, by the same lane the Ivy logo was in at the bottom of the pool. Our multimedia crew saw this too and with excitement in his eyes he hustled over to computers to record an image of the swimmer swimming across the Ivy logo in the pool.

He exhibited child-like wonder, saw something he wanted, and he went after it. That is engagement.

When you are engaged in the workplace, you're going to have a much more pleasurable experience. I've worked a few different places with varying degrees of management styles and I've come to find the one's I enjoy best are those where I have the opportunity to feel like I'm being heard.

In some work environments there may be weekly team meetings and even if it's only a staff of three people, it can feel that team meeting can feel less intimate. But when there are one-on-one meetings every few weeks in addition provides the employee with the an opportunity to voice their concerns, desires and if he/she is feeling over- or under-whelmed. That is what Pink calls Motivation 3.0.

We all want that in our every day lives both professionally and personally.

Book of the Week: "Positive Dog" by Jon Gordon

There is a saying that you attract those things that you put out. It's like a boomerang. If you project negativity, the only thing that is going to come back is a negative outcome.

So looking at this, wouldn't it be wise to exert positivity? Wouldn't positivity return if that that was the case? Well that is exactly what Jon Gordon claims in the "Positive Dog."

We all have two types of dogs in us, a positive dog and a negative dog. The dog that that grows bigger and stronger is, naturally, the one we feed the most. If we constantly feeding the dog with phrases of "not good enough" or "it will never work out," then the negative dog grows, but if you constantly surround yourself with positive affirmations the positive dog becomes stronger.

It reminds me of something my college golf coach always said on the course, "identify the negative, but focus on the positive." Identifying that something is not right is ok, but then you have to move on and find the bright spots.

Keeping with the sport of golf, say you pull your tee shot far left and you know there's out-of-bounds on that side of the fairway. Not sure you're out of bounds, you hit a provisional ball. When walking off the tee box and proceeding to your ball, you notice your first ball came to rest at the base of a tree.

There's two ways to look at this scenario. If you feed the negative dog, you may say "oh great how am I going to hit this?" But the positive dog in you would look at this scenario and say "great I'm not out-of-bounds! I can punch this back out to the fair way and still have an opportunity to for par."

Which one of those two phrases sounds better in your eyes?

Definitely a book I would encourage reading this month. I mean what else are you doing the rest of this month?

Book of the Week: "The Coffee Bean" by Jon Gordon

The Coffee Bean.

It's simple book about a simple concept. And the fifth Jon Gordon book I've read in the past 13 months. The other four have been some of his best-sellers such as The Energy Bus, The No Complaining Rule, The Hard Hat, and The Shark and The Goldfish. 

Written along with former drug addict turned motivational speaker, Damon West, the pair discuss an issue of importance in today's ever connected world. 

We currently live in a world that is more connected through social media than at any other time in history. It's both a good thing and a bad thing. The good part is we can keep in touch with friends and family we may not see on an everyday basis; the bad thing is it has become increasingly negative, thus raises anxiety levels of the society. (Social media is great at doing this.) 

Using the example of a carrot, an egg and a coffee bean and each one's reaction when placed in boiling, hot water, it is analogous to our every day lives and the stressors and challenges we face. 

When you put a carrot in water, it softens. Life's "carrots," when they endure challenges they become weaker. An egg is just the opposite when it comes into contact with hot water, it hardens. The "eggs" in life become angry, resentful, and mean when encountering stress. You don't want to be either one of those. 

But what about the coffee bean? Well, the coffee bean when it comes into contact with boiling water, it transforms. It, eventually, turns into coffee. 

That's what you should be in life. Be a coffee bean. Transform to the environment, grow from the failure you have endured; don't be weakened or hardened by it. As the saying goes "life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." You can be a carrot and give up; an egg and become hard and close yourself off; or you can be the coffee bean and accept what happened and figure out your next steps. (A certain former softball coach I worked with had a term for this: #FITFO.) 

So exactly what are you? 

A carrot, an egg or a coffee bean. It's your choice. 

BOOK OF THE WEEK: "Kindness and Wonder" by Gavin Edwards

I'm back! Yes I know it's been sometime since my last "book of the week" blog, but this one is a good one. It's about the man who most of us grew up watching as toddlers before we entered formal school: Fred Rogers.

The man was an iconic when to children. As we grew older into adulthood, we began to be a little more cynical of Mister Rogers. Could there really be a guy out there who was truly that nice?

Mister Rogers saw the good in everything and everyone he encountered. Today that is almost an anomaly in our social media driven world, where a lot posted to Twitter is negative and Instagram is life's highlight reel. It always seemed as Mister Rogers was too good to be true. A unicorn.

But as many people who knew him well, Mister  Rogers was a genuine man. What you saw is what you got with him and we need this book now more than ever. When things may be getting crazy and life takes us down a different road than we imagined, we have to be able to hit the curveball. But also, most importantly, take a step back and breathe.

If any one is following on my Instagram, you would have seen that the last few days I've been posting a few short four or five word liners. Those are are from the second half of the book and are ways to live more like Mister Rogers today.

THE FIRST WAY: Be Deep and Simple
One the phrases he was most known for and that he made a song is "it's you I like." Four words. They don't mean all that much, but when put together it is deep. If you don't remember the song, I highly recommend going to YouTube and searching it. Wait ... I'll do it for you. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

In the world we live in today, many people are so fascinated with showing off all their new gadgets, cars, fancy watches, earings, job promotions, etc., well that's not what life is about. Life is about people. 

So, Life Solution No. 1: When you're feeling down or stuck turn this song on, it will help. 

THE SECOND WAY: Be Kind To Strangers

This is pretty self explanatory. We don't know what is going on in other people's lives. On the outside, he may be a great job, but at home he is struggling to be a good father to his children and husband to wife. Something as simple as a smile, or a simple "hi how are you you?" can go a long way. 

Life Solution No. 2: Do a small favor for someone, something as simple as buying them a coffee or putting money in the meter. Remember "Little Drops Make Big Drops."

THE THIRD WAY: Make Joyful Noise

You may not be where you want to be right no, but look for the good you can take from it today and bring positivity to it. 

Life Solution No. 3: Listen to an uplifting song. 

THE FOURTH WAY: Tell The Truth

Being genuine and authentic to everyone you meet. One of the things that made everyone love Mister Rogers was that he was genuinely a nice guy. (It's also why everyone loves Jerry York.) Don't talk down to people. From experience, I know how it feels to be talked down to and disrespected. It's a horrible feeling and makes you feel less valuable. 

Life Solution No. 4:  Treat everyone you meet as a human, no matter what their title may be. 

THE FIFTH WAY: Connect With Other People Every Way You Can

Don't limit yourself to just your core group of friends or co-workers. Open yourself and get to know other people. You may find you have more in common with them than you think. Trust me on this one I discovered this, this past weekend the Ivy League men's swimming and diving championships. 

Life Solution No. 5: Talk to one person at school, or work that you ordinarily wouldn't talk to. 

THE SIXTH WAY: Love Your Neighbors

A slight continuation from the fifth way and insinuates Mister Rogers belief that everyone should like everyone - no matter how different they may be. In order to do big things, grow and over come obstacles, we all need to be part of a community. 

Life Solution No. 6: Show Up and Be Part of the Community; Be A Team Player

THE SEVENTH WAY: Find The Light  In The Darkness

We're all going to go through hard times in life, but when you're going through those time it's even more important to look for the possibility of good things happening. Harvard has taught me a lot. It taught me a lot about myself as well as technical skills that I used to bring joy / happiness to others outside Ivy League institution. 

Life Solution No. 7: Be Grateful For What You Do Have'

THE EIGHTH WAY: Always See The Very Best In Other People

Mister Rogers often got parodied and spoofed by a lot of late night comedy shows such as Saturday Night Life and The Tonight Show as well as other comedians. Sometimes he was ok with it, but it still didn't change the fact that it hurt. (Similar to the "low-five." Certainly, there was no malice intended, but not how one expects to be treated as a professional.) 

Life Solution No. 8: Put Yourself In Their Shoes

THE NINTH WAY: Accept The Changing Seasons

There are very few givens in life, but one of them is that there are going to be changes. Things are going to come up and you're going to have to adapt to them. Whether it is adjusting to a new social media trend, it's raining out and you can't take your group of seven year olds to the park, or a swim event gets re-seeded, it happens. You have to be able to hit the curveball - ok well unless you're Xander Bogaerts. 

Life Solution No. 9: Go with the Flow

THE TENTH WAY: Share What You've Learned (All Your Life)

One of the things I'm best at. I have over a decade of professional experience in athletic communication, I enjoy helping others, especially the younger rising stars and molding them. There's not a lot I haven't seen in the field (aside from having a computer re-start in the middle of a volleyball set, never saw that before), so as long as I can take that knowledge and pass it along, I'm happy.