Source: NCAA Women’s Gymnastics | Recruiting
Moving Forward- Chaos or Community
It has been about a year that USA Gymnastics has been embroiled in crisis and controversy. The problems have roots which reach back decades. The question is, Where do we go from here?
While vacationing in the Caribbean in 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King wrote the first draft of his final book Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?
hmmmm… Chaos or Community? There are still a great many people who want to burn down USA Gymnastics. It is always easier to destroy than to create BUT USA Gymnastics is about creating. I am not ignoring the issues. I want to face them dead on. If gymnastics is our garden, we want it to grow and flourish- we do need to weed some things out. We need to continue to plant the seeds of success and tend to it on a regular basis.
To those who are screaming for the dismantling of USA Gymnastics- What do you want to replace it with? There are SO many great things going on. The Trampoline and Tumbling Program have increased their numbers nation wide and are involved in areas in the country where they never have before. The Men’s program continues to move forward and the Women’s program looks like it will continue to dominate. Junior Olympic Nationals in all disciples were successful and I was impressed by the level of difficulty. (My sincere apologies to Acro, Rhythmic and Gymnastics for All. I do not have any information on those disciplines).
Any organization will need to make adjustments. USA Gymnastics needs strong individuals to be part of a team. Those who can stand in the face of criticism and work for solutions. Not everyone is going to be pleased with the solutions. That is how business is done.
In my lecture on ETHICS given at the USAG Idaho state clinic I asked everyone who their hero was. We all need heroes. People we want to emulate. It could be anyone, fictional, real, living or dead. I said my fictional hero was Jeb Bartlet. Martin Sheen’s character in the TV show “The West Wing”. He was a person with a strong moral compass faced with many difficult questions. A strong and charismatic leader who took advice from those around him before he made decisions. One of my favorite quotes is:
We don’t need martyrs right now. We need heroes. A hero would die for his country, but he’d much rather live for it.
Moving forwards let’s focus on the Gymnastics Community. Here are some things that need to happen. Many of these are already in the works!
ADMIT THE PROBLEM
For many businesses, the hardest struggle was figuring out when it was time to retool. This became clear with all the allegations surrounding gymnastics this last year. USAG needs to now focus on building morale and our brand. Make gymnastics the leading NGB with coaches education and athlete safety.
Gymnastics is a tough business, and no club has perfectly figured out the best way to appease customers while actually netting real income. I feel as soon as I figure something out in my clubs- the needs of the customer changes. Gymnastics is a dynamic sport. Otherwise we would still be tumbling on horse hair mats and vaulting over a side horse. You are either getting better or getting worse. There is no such thing as staying the same. We need to stay flexible and continue to move forward.
COMMUNICATE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN
We are in a 24/7 news world. If USA Gymnastics isn’t putting out information on a steady basis- the market will fill the vacuum with less than flattering “news”. While I have been writing this I have seen 2 or 3 tweets from USAG. Great Job to whomever is doing this!
I envisioned the communication strategy as a way to keep everyone in the gymnastics community engaged and invested in the sport. We need to figure out a way to not just distract people but to continue to be honest and authentic, you don’t want to tell untruth or “alternative facts”. There are so many great things happening in our sport every day. Everyone needs to know these.
There will always be predators out there. This is not just a “gymnastics thing”. Look at other national sports in North America or even in the church. When someone crosses the line, there needs to be communications to the community with the facts.
STRATEGIZE BEFORE
Even more important is being prepared for these kinds of moments. We should develop scenarios so that we are prepared for crises before they happen.
No CEO/president wants to think about the hard times. So it’s hard to create a plan that hinges on things going poorly. This, however, is the new reality .
PREPARE FOR WHAT COMES AFTER
Chaos or Community? Perhaps most jarring is the fact that after a crisis hits, business doesn’t abruptly end. There is still business to be done. Indeed, if the CEO/president is settling lawsuits or even perhaps filing for bankruptcy the show must go on. Tying up loose ends like insurance and debts takes time, and this all happens after already dealing with the trauma of what has happened.This is one of the biggest lessons to learn–being ready for what comes after the fallout.
There’s no map for how to operate when in the midst of gargantuan changes, yet there are tools and strategies that can help a leader conceptualize the challenge and move forward. And the scars may feel exposed, but they do help steer and educate future endeavors.
Ethics Revisited
In order to do what is right, one must know what is right.
I believe that nearly everyone knows the difference between right and wrong.
DO WHAT IS RIGHT.
You do not need a lawyer to tell you your moral absolutes. A strong and unbending moral will, while commendable, is not enough to ensure a moral life. Equally important is moral intelligence. History testifies that blind, misguided will and conviction can cause incalculable damage (the Crusades, the Inquisition, Naziism, Islamic Extremists. And unless we avoid it extremism in the USA). We need to stop being surprised when someone does and the right thing and start expecting it.
When ever I hear someone giving a monologue on their ethical behavior- you can be pretty sure they know what they did was wrong
Gymnast’s Training Journal
As promised here is the gymnasts training journal for summer. It needs updating. I will work on it and repost it. Probably tomorrow.
It is 3 pages. So I added a cover to be printed out separately. Print out the cover then as many pages as need for each of your gymnasts.
YES- I am giving it away.
WHY?- Sharing is caring. You can share it too.
What do I expect in return? That when someone asks for help- you help them. That’s all. Pay it forward.
Success Isn’t Easy
Wouldn’t it be great if success was simple?
But it isn’t.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer for success in the gym and in life, but I will do my best to steer you in the right direction.
GET UP INSANELY EARLY
It sounds scary, but consider what would happen if instead of watching reruns of bad movies at night, you went to bed at a reasonable hour, thus allowing yourself to wake up early and super productive? Through the Gym Momentum community I get 10-15 e-mails each night and another 20-30 things on Facebook. Looking at the time stamps I know that many of you post and e-mail late at night when your time would be better spent sleeping.
Waking up before anybody else allows you to work out the logistics of the day to come , track your time, and (most importantly) UNPLUG FOR A FEW HOURS. Turn off your cell phone at night, If you wake up in the middle of the night, don’t check your e-mail or text messages. They will all still be there in the morning.
I hear people all the time say, “I just need a few more hours in the day to get everything done” . Often these are the same people who waste their mornings.
KEEP PROMISES, NO MATTER HOW SMALL
Talk is cheap and meaningful customer relationships are built on promises. Same goes for your personal life, right?
Well, Maybe.
Success is built on mutually trusting relationships with just about everybody. If you say you’re going to walk the gym dog, well, you’d best walk the gym dog.
LEARN HOW TO TELL STORIES.
You want to be successful in life, but you don’t have the job you want or your team isn’t as successful as you’d like them to be this year. The first step to nail that dream job or dream team? Learn how to tell a great story- Starting with your interview.
Sometimes you need to CREATE your history. Create YOUR story. WHY you are who you are. WHY are you destined for greatness.
LEAD, DON’T DICTATE.
There is a big difference between being a leader and being a boss. A great leader leads by example and sets the tone. You want a team of hard working individuals. Be the hardest working one out there.
DON’T BE AFRAID- OR EMBARRASSED- OF YOUR FAILURES
We all know many stories of those who have failed in order to succeed. I have posted many BLOGS on why Failure is a necessary step t success. BUT how do you fail constructively?
Not all failures lead to solutions, though. How do you fail constructively?
We’re taught to do things the right way. But if you want to discover something that other people haven’t, you may need to do things the wrong way. Initiate a failure by doing something that’s very silly, unthinkable, naughty, dangerous. Watching why that fails can take you on a completely different path. It’s exciting, actually. To me, solving problems is a bit like a drug. You’re on it, and you can’t get off
It’s also OK to QUIT something when your heart isn’t into it or when you see the writing on the wall.
ASK QUESTIONS. A LOT OF THEM
Albert Einstein, obviously a great thinker, would have been a great coach and entrepreneur.
To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advances in science.
EVERYONE needs to pause occasionally for self reflection.
What is your purpose on earth?
What should you stop doing?
What is your “lab” or “petri dish”?
BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF and OTHERS
Remember when I said about asking questions ? Here is a hard one-
ARE YOU PASSIONATE or DELUSIONAL?
Delusion is a double-edged sword. When it comes to productivity, tricking yourself can be your best move, but if your career is hurting other (more important) aspects of your life it might be time to re-evaluate your priorities.
Truth be told, I think the difference between passion and delusion isn’t even very distinguishable. I suspect many a coach has fallen too far down the rabbit hole without even realizing it. It happens to me. I convince myself my gym and my team is on the right track and then I get to a big competition and we blow it. Upset parents, upset gymnasts and upset coaches.That is my reality check. I was laser-focused on the belief I had to succeed no matter what, which led me to lose sight of reality. My story has a happy ending because I was able to wake up and get back on track.
TAKE BREAKS
Go for a walk, go surfing, go camping. Get your ass out of the gym . Unplug for a few days. Spend sometime with friends. It will keep you from going insane and help you refocus when you are back.
TAKE NOTES and STAY ORGANIZED.
If you are trying to delve deeper than surface level engagement, try taking notes.
I have always been a journal keeper. It might sound silly but putting some genuine effort into it- note taking, list making and reflection- it helps me stay organized and keep my focus onto what I am after. If we want to get focused, one old and obvious hack isto first go analog. What’s nice about a notebook and a pen is that your friends and colleagues can’t assault you with cat videos and humblebrags as you organize your day, unlike anything connected to the Internet.
Lessons from the past
There aren’t a lot of business books from a half-century ago that are helpful to gymnastics professionals today or have stood the test of time. Peter Drucker’s The Effective Executive , now available in a spiffy new 50th Anniversary edition, is one of the select few. In 1967, back before Millennials were a gleam in their parents’ eyes, Drucker declared, “The executive is, first of all, expected to get the right things done. And this is simply saying that he is expected to be effective.” That statement is obviously true for coaches as well.
Drucker is as relevant for coaches today as he was for business leaders the year after I was born (now you know my relative age). He approaches the study of business like a surgeon. His clarity of thought and language were a scalpel, which he used to dissect every aspect of management until he had revealed its essence. In The Effective Executive, Drucker applied that scalpel to leadership.
Drucker was convinced that leaders are made, not born. As a gymnastics professional there are five practices that can make you a more effective leader in your gym:
1. Manage your time
“Time is the scarcest resource,” wrote Drucker, “and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed.” Successful coaches know how they need to spend their day. They dismiss or delegate any activity that doesn’t require their direct attention. If you really need something done- asks a busy person.
To identify the unnecessary time-sucks in your day, Drucker suggested jotting down everything you do in real time. Even better, these days you could get a time management app. Then, examine your activity entries and, for each one, ask yourself, “What would happen if this were not done at all?” If the answer is nothing (and it often will be, according to Drucker), stop doing it. If the task needs to be done, ask yourself if it could be done by somebody else. If so, delegate it. Repeat every few months to make sure you’re still spending your time wisely.
2. Focus on contribution
Effective coaches hold themselves “accountable for the performance of the whole,” wrote Drucker. By that he meant that they weren’t solely focused on their job performance or their own careers. Instead, the most effective leaders are team players who work hard to realize the strategic goals of their clubs or organizations.
Direct your focus to what you can do to maximize your contribution to the gym. Ask other people in the gym, [your] superiors, [your] subordinates, but above all, [your] colleagues : “What can I do to help you do a better job and make the gym better?”
3. Build on strengths
Drucker preached a strength-based approach to talent decades before it became a corporate buzzword. This was possibly a lesson he could have learned FROM US! Effective coaches drive team productivity and results, by building on available strengths–the strengths of other coaches, the strengths of the facility, and one’s own strength.
Train yourself to focus on strengths instead of weaknesses by concentrating on what coaches can do rather than what they can’t do. Seek out only the best-qualified people, instead of those who play well with others or who appear to have no flaws (we ALL have flaws). And don’t forget to apply this practice to yourself–identify your own strengths and use them to improve your performance.
4. Prioritize and concentrate
Long before we were all tethered to our smartphones, Drucker was warning leaders about the dangers of multitasking. He said that effective executives focus all their faculties on one achievement at a time. Why? “The more one can concentrate time, effort, and resources,” Drucker wrote, “the greater the number and diversity of tasks one can actually perform.”
To make the most of your concentrated effort, first prioritize your tasks. Prioritization is key. If you’re only working on one thing, you must make sure it’s the right thing. Effective coaches do first things first and they do one thing at a time.
5. Make decisions systematically
Finally, Drucker said that effective leaders make sound decisions–that means no on-the-fly calls or going with your gut. Sound decisions, he said, come from using a repeatable, consistent process with clearly defined elements executed in a distinct sequence.
How should you approach decision making?
- Determine what kind of decision is required. If the issue is ongoing, you’ll need to develop a policy; if it’s a one-off situation, make the call and move on.
- Define the decision’s “boundary conditions”–that is, its objectives, minimum goals, and the conditions it must meet–before you make it.
- Shoot for the ideal outcome to start. Save the inevitable compromises for later, when it’s time to implement the decision.
- Define the actions necessary to implement the decision in the decision.
- Don’t chisel your decisions in stone. Allow for post-implementation feedback and adapt the decision when needed.
And a #1 song from 1967 for no reason at all:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw40NMa_0RM
Finding and BUILDING Leaders
This post started as an internal memo from me to my managers at my gyms. We are getting to the end of a year where we have had a lot of changes. We have been successful despite some serious obstacles and are now looking forward to the next stage.
Some people are natural leaders, but the best leaders don’t always wear it on their sleeves. I take hiring decisions seriously, and I’ve always strongly believed in hiring from the inside. Someone once told me (it was probably my mom!)
“If you have to hire from the outside- hire the personality and philosophy. You can teach them the rest.”
Bringing someone new into a group that works like a well-oiled machine is always a risk. Plus, I know that the quality of the services my gym delivers is based, at least partly, on the strong and long-lasting relationships our team has built. I love the people I work with. I do not ever want to make their job harder.
Since I value loyalty within Atlantic, it’s always been important for me to find leaders among people who weren’t originally hired into leadership positions. I don’t necessarily want to hire someone from the outside for leadership roles; I want the experience from someone who has already worked for us for a long time. Look at Dina our General Manager, she started as part time office help! We are going through a lot of changes right now and I have given a great deal of thought into techniques that I have used in the past that have put people in a position where they can step up. As much as I’d like, I cannot be everywhere at once and YOU cannot be either.
Here are my words of wisdom on a steamy Thursday in May. (written on a 90+ degree day after nearly a month of cold and rain)
Encourage them to fly early and often.
Give our employees opportunities to exercise leadership skills before they take on formal leadership roles. For example, certain projects, like arts and crafts for summer camp or developmental team/ Tops may be better led by the person with the most directly related experience, rather than the person who has a management title. This gives “non-managerial” employees the chance to step up and lead. You or another manager should still set goals and expectation for these projects and groups but you’ll have the chance to examine how this employee handles new tasks, authority over others, and the responsibility of delivering a finished project.
One of the best signs an employee is ready for leadership is a desire for more responsibility. Make sure you are providing guidance to employees who are coming to you looking for the chance to take on more work. You should consider them first when you’re looking for leaders for your next project. You can bolster their abilities in the meantime by sending them to training camps, congresses or conferences.
word of caution- when they volunteer, you are still going to need to supervise, encourage and guide. I have gotten myself into trouble in the past when someone steps up I give them responsibility but I didn’t offer enough guidance and encouragement only to find out too late that they were over their heads. Even when they say, “I’ve got this”.
Be their confidence until they have their own.
Not everyone feels like a natural leader, but some who possess the necessary skills may simply be suffering from a crisis of confidence. If one doesn’t have past experience with leadership, it can be an incredibly intimidating proposition to try to get others rallying around a common goal. However, when given the chance, employees who have never been in such a position can suddenly shine. They just need some support from you first.
If you’re trying to transition a coach/teacher into a leadership role, make sure that you’re serving as their confidence until they can develop their own. There are several ways you can do this.
First, let them know that you believe in them when they’re handling tough projects. Make sure you mark their successes with positive reinforcement and praise. Just like you would with a gymnast learning a new skill.
Then, when they experience setbacks, help them understand their failures by discussing the failures you experienced when you were just starting out. Fail forward. Failure is a prerequisite to success.
Let them know that the most important thing is to be constantly moving forward; the only answer to failure is to immediately start working on the solution and not let disappointment affect you.
Invest directly in the skills you want to refine.
Even coaches you identify as strong potential leaders will not come with all the necessary skills attached. Sometimes, you need to invest in these individuals after they arrive to help mold them into the kind of leaders you need them to be. One great way to do this is by encouraging continuing education. You can do this by recommending books, classes or conferences going on in the area. Attending congress or other educational opportunities. Take the time to discuss each of these with your coaches.
You know that I find continuing education to be one of the most important things a coach can do. I have been at training camps with literally the BEST COACHES IN THE WORLD and they have each shared things which they have learned in the last few months. If your coaches are not continuing to learn and move forward- they are probably in the wrong sport.
Scout a new leader today.
You may never know what leadership potential already exists among our coaches and teachers until you present them with chances to develop and hone their skills. Not all strong, natural leaders know how to present their strengths. To do so, they may need your help.
By looking within Atlantic for potential leaders, and giving these individuals the support they need to grow and thrive, you can build leaders who know the gym(s) inside and out, and care about loyalty just as much as you do.
We strive to make the gyms not just a great place for the athletes and parents but a great place to work. A place where our employees know that we want them to continue to move forward.
Gymnastics Prepares You For Life.
Why Gymnastics Prepares You For Life.
They had the AC cranked and it was uncomfortably cold in the conference room at the hotel so I ran up in between lectures to put on long pants and shirt.
I’d been introduced, I knew this lecture back to front, I had polished the PowerPoint presentation and the opening video was being projected on the screen. I welcome the audience, thank them for coming to this regions mini-congress. I get about 6 slides in and THE ROOM GOES BLACK. The emergency lights flicker on, there is enough light to keep going but there is no power to the projector.
I wait 1 or 2 minutes, someone from the hotel says that there is no power on the entire block. We are safe to keep going. No AC, a room filled with 200+ people. I start to sweat. I unplug the projector spin my laptop around and put it up on chair on top of the table and keep going. Showing every slide twice. First to the left side or the room, then to the right side.
Practice Your Mistakes: Know How to Fall
The idea of practicing mistakes is something I do quite often. Very rarely (if ever?) does anyone in the gym complete a skill or exercise without room for improvement. In a routine a pirouette is missed or a turn goes too far.
What do you do, Stop? Try again?
When I speak at congresses or seminars I rely on many pieces of technology to execute “flawless” performances. It’s rare when not at least one thing goes wrong. It be could be as small as forgetting to put batteries in the microphone, to something big like a hard drive crash (please knock on wood that this never happens to me).
But when things do go wrong, it’s usually an operator error (me, myself and I).Things usually do not go terribly wrong, because I’ve likely practiced the mistake ahead of time. Just like what we do in the gym every day.
Falls are common in every gym. Equipment failure can occur. A grip can break, a mat can slip. When you walk into anyone’s gym you will see quality gymnasts take missteps and have GRACEFUL FALLS. It’s as if they anticipated their fall, readied their body and as best they could do, gently fall to the floor below.
Almost like they practiced it and I’ll bet you they did. For every great flight series we see, how many falls do you see to get there?
Perfect Mistake Practice Makes Perfect
It’s been said that practice makes perfect. Or perfect practice makes perfect. But the reality is, rarely anything is flawlessly executed. We can train and practice. We can study and go through scenarios over and over inside our head, but there is nothing that can actually simulate for “showtime.” There is nothing that can emulate the nerves, the environmental conditions, a mat deciding to slip, and a host of other issues that all tend to rear their heads at the wrong time.
This isn’t about having a backup plan, which you should also have. Backup plans and encountering mistakes are two different things.
A back-up plan is having another PowerPoint remote, or an extra set of grips. But could your really prepare for a TOTAL POWER OUTAGE? The only way you can be prepared is to practice our mistakes. Practice our falls. The better you get at that, the better you will get at making on the fly adjustments and continuing.
In the gym it seems we are always practicing routines. Once one season ends we have a few short weeks before we are already trying to put new skills into next seasons routines. We practice when things go right and we practice when things go wrong.
In the business world you must also practice when things go right and when things go wrong. I do NOT believe is rising to the occasion. I believe in sinking to the level of training.
In the business world I’m an advocate for practicing our mistakes, or running through those catastrophic scenarios that make you think, “I’m dead, there’s nothing I can do, show’s over.”
But if you’ve gone through those scenarios before, then it’s not a catastrophe, it’s a slight detour from the original plan. You know exactly what to do to fix the problem because you’ve practiced this before.
AND- IF YOU ARE IN THE HIRING DEPARTMENT OF A COMPANY, HIRE A GYMNAST. WE KNOW HOW TO STUMBLE AND POSSIBLY FALL, MAKE ADJUSTMENTS AND KEEP GOING.
3 Habits of Productive Coaches
Productivity isn’t about getting more done, but about getting what matters most done. With this in mind, here are three habits productive coaches do differently to focus on what matters most.
Productive Coaches dump their to-do list
You need to prioritize to be productive. Many to-do lists prioritize the wrong activities. When I had my to-do list, buying milk was listed before getting meet entries in. YES- I needed to buy milk on the way home but MY JOB is to make sure all the meet entries are in. My list tended to give everything the same Importance. I needed to have a list of priorities.
A great alternative to a to-do list is a 20-80 List. A 20-80 List is built on the Pareto Principle, which basically states that 20 percent of your efforts create 80 percent of your results. Examples of the Pareto Principle are everywhere. In the gym you’ve probably experienced that 20 percent of people do 80 percent of the work, or event that 20 percent of your corrections get 80 percent of your results. Need an example closer to home? Look in your closet. You likely wear 20 percent of your clothes 80 percent of the time.
Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. Write “20 Percent” at the top of the left side and “80 Percent” at the top of the right side. From there, show favoritism by only listing what matters most on the 20 Percent side. All other items go on the right side. If you do it correctly, you’ll end up with only a handful of tasks on the left side of the paper. Those are the ones you need to get done first! They will produce 80 percent of what matters most.
Productive Coaches slow down under pressure
The best coaches I know practice a counterintuitive habit — they lead their team from a quiet place when more is added to their plate. While the implementation of this habit looks different with every coach, a couple overarching principles remain constant among the most productive leaders.
First, productive coaches create time and space to slow down before things get added to their plate. This time might be early in the morning or before they go to bed. The key isn’t when it’s scheduled, but that it has already been scheduled before anything extra gets added to their calendar. When tough issues arise, they don’t have to scramble to find time to address them because they have already schedule their lead-from-quiet time every day.
Second, they carve out significant chunks of time to lead from a place of calm and quiet. Although there is great value in taking 10 minute breaks throughout the day, productive coaches know these breaks are for taking breaks, not working. Short breaks are good for getting re-energized, but not for thinking deeply about leadership issues. When I am at my busiest- I still get up and run out to go grab a cup of coffee. It is just enough time to refocus. It’s only 10 minutes but it really helps me.
Third, the best coaches make a conscious effort to SLOW DOWN in times of stress. Inevitably obstacles will arise in meets and practice. A coach can ramp up, speed up, there by stressing everyone out around them (and lowering productivity). Or they can slow down, speak slowly and deliberately. Lay out the expectations and the new plan. This will help keeping some semblance of control.
The most productive coaches use simple math for their hardest problems. Perhaps what sets the most productive leaders apart is how they respond to adversity. Most coaches buy into the myth that the events of your day lead to your outcomes. They adopt an E = O mentality, thinking if events go their way, their outcomes will be good, but if events turn sour, their outcomes turn sour as well.
The problem with this equation is it’s based on what we cannot control: events. We don’t control the weather, the economy or the judges scores. Individuals who follow the E = O equation might as well add “= V” at the end because, if you allow your events to equal your outcomes, you’ll inevitably end up a victim. The real equation then becomes Events = Outcomes = Victims.
We need to realize this isn’t true and adopt the habit of approaching circumstances through an Events + Reactions = Outcomes equation. Originally taught by Dr. Robert Resnick and shared in Jack Canfield’s book, The Success Principles, E + R = O allows coaches to transform the way they lead by adding one letter to the E=O equation. That one letter empowers them and their team to win by reminding them to focus on the one thing they can control — their response.
You must commit to owning your response no matter what events you face. By adding this one letter, you can turn even the most challenging events into positive outcomes.
If you are going to move from average to exceptional you need to change your habits. Be more productive, prioritize your day and your practice. Try slowing down and owning your responses to events in practice and competitions. Your gymnasts and staff should mirror your behavior .
My Gymnastics Philosophy Part 2
Finding your philosophy.
I had someone tell me once that if I were hiring someone I needed to hire someone with a philosophy that I could work with. I could teach them the rest. In our business, that is often an overlooked quality. A gym owner will look at someone’s accomplishments, their ability to spot. They (hopefully!) will do some investigating into their background, make some phone calls to past employers and maybe call some parents or former gymnasts. All of that is a good start but as gym owners or managers interviewing a potential employee you need to LISTEN. You need to have some in-depth conversations to find out if their philosophy in and out of the gym is compatible with yours.
Teaching them your system won’t take long. Educating them to be a BETTER coach should be an ongoing process. You are probably not going to change their philosophy. They can change their mind on whether to teach a yurchenko or tsuk first but their core values will remain the same.
In my professional career there were 2 books that helped me form my overall philosophy. Recently I was flying through Heathrow Airport in London and had some time to kill. I was walking by a book store and they had both of “my books” displayed in front. Don Quixote and The Prince. One is my HEART, the other is my HEAD. One is my coaching philosophy, the dreamer. The other is my business side. I bought both.
THE PRINCE
Over Christmas break my son and I were talking about The Prince. Few historical figures are as divisive and polarizing as Niccolo Machiavelli. The fact that this Renaissance philosophers works date back 500 years hasn’t blunted its impact or controversy one bit. Some view him as the father of modern materialism, inspiring people to do or say anything to achieve personal gain, i.e. the ends justify the means. Indeed, the word Machiavellian – derived from his most famous work, The Prince – has come to mean cunning, deceit, and manipulation.
I, however, see him as the world’s first great realist and a positive influence on modern politics and business. Machiavelli may even have been the first to apply empirical scientific methods to human behavior by making innovative generalizations based on experience, observation, and history. Many of his ideas for achieving long-term political success and power translate extraordinarily well into the business world.
I never realized how closely my own ideas on business and leadership resonated with his. It turns out that I’ve more or less been quoting the guy for years without even realizing it. Coincidence? Hmm.
Some Business Lessons:
Either treat people well… or completely destroy them.
Men ought either to be well-treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones they cannot; therefore the injury that is to be done to a man ought to be of such a kind that one does not stand in fear of revenge
None of our businesses are islands. We are part of the communities we are in. You will have interactions with other businesses and other gyms. When we go to competitions you have the same 2 choices. Treat other coaches well. Or completely destroy them.
I prefer to treat all with respect. It is just the way I was brought up.
If you suspect someone could pose a future threat, deal with them now.
The Romans never allowed a trouble spot to remain simply to avoid going to war over it, because they knew that wars don’t just go away, they are only postponed to someone else’s advantage.
By nature I am a pretty non confrontation person. When confrontation is unavoidable, I’d rather face it now. Sometimes it is an angry parent, disgruntled employee or even another coach in the community.
Study the greats. That way, even if you fall short, you’ll end up good.
A prudent man should always follow in the path trodden by great men and imitate those who are most excellent, so that if he does not attain to their greatness, at any rate he will get some tinge of it.
A lesson that carries over from Don Quixote. I aim for great.
It’s safer to be feared than loved. But don’t go overboard with the fear thing.
From this arises the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both: but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.
A prince should make himself feared in such a way that if he does not gain love, he at any rate avoids hatred.
I think FEAR is too big of a concept. It is more about respect. I want my gymnasts and my employees to be afraid to disappoint me.
Perception is reality.
Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are.
The vulgar crowd always is taken by appearances, and the world consists chiefly of the vulgar.
Whether we want to or not, we are role models for our gymnasts and employees. How they perceive us is very important.
Smart people hire other smart people.
The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.
If I ever find myself the smartest person in the room, I am in the WRONG room. I want to be surrounded by the best and the brightest. I give them actual responsibilities and hold the accountable. If they are successful- I want everyone to know it. If they are struggling, we will handle that behind a closed door.
Just do it.
It is better to be rash than timid, for Fortune is a woman, and the man who wants to hold her down must beat and bully her. We see that she yields more often to men of this stripe than to those who come coldly toward her.“All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively.”
When it is time to make a decision, MAKE IT.
A few of my other favorite quotes
“It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.”
“It is essential that in entering a new province you should have the good will of its inhabitants.”
“He who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against;”
“Therefore the best fortress is to be found in the love of the people, for although you may have fortresses they will not save you if you are hated by the people.”