Who (Seattle) Will Win the Super Bowl?
Who Will Win the Super
Bowl?*
It seems
perhaps a bit trite to say "The
best team." So we
won't.
What we will
say is, it will be the side that
exhibits the best
teamwork.Getting
to the championship level of any
major league professional sport
is pretty good evidence that
you're loaded with talented
players, wise coaches and a
supportive cast in the front
office. It also means you're
probably pretty cohesive as a
group.
But winning
the championship depends on
teamwork even more than getting
there. Because the other guys
are probably a match for your
talent, coaches and front
office. (Unless you're the 1985
New England Patriots vs. the
Chicago Bears. Which we will not
discuss.)
The winners
of these events need an edge.
Something that provides the "X"
factor, the unexpected advantage
that the other guys don't have
and didn't think of. The
"Twelfth Man" (and this time we
aren't talking about crowd
noise).
The ability
to work together. To communicate
without words. To know each
other so well, to be so bonded,
that you can anticipate what
they're going to do and act
accordingly. In football it may
mean passing the ball downfield
without looking, or throwing a
block left when your ball
carrier dodges
right.
When you get
to that point - and the other
guys don't do it quite so well -
you've got the edge. And that's
the team that'll
win.
* (We hope
it's the Seahawks, but we
understand that rooting for the
local guys doesn't make it the
correct choice. It does make it
the "right" choice, though.
Doesn't it?)
What did Dr. King do for teams?
Today we honor Dr. Martin
Luther King - his life, his
legacy, his accomplishments,
his vision.
And
what he has done for
teamwork.
It may
seem trivial to think of his
sacrifices in terms of
business efficiency,
effectiveness and cohesion
when his contributions on
the realm of social justice
loom so
large.
But the
fact is, what Dr. King was
about was making it possible
for persons of every color,
creed, and nationality to be
able to live and work
together in harmony, without
prejudice.
Accepting
others for who they are and
what they can contribute,
rather than some demographic
quality.
Because
of Dr. King, many now hire,
promote, train and yes, even
fire, based entirely on a
person's accomplishments,
rather than on their
appearance or
faith.
(We say
"many." We hope it is
"most." We wish it were
"all." We, too, continue to
dream.)
Doesn't
that make for better teams?
Isn't your team better off
for this?
Isn't
that
important?
We
thought so.
Better lucky, or good?
Forbes Magazine recently posed that question about a team we like to follow (The Oregon Ducks football team). A timely post, considering that he Ducks play against the Texas Longhorns in a few hours in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, TX.
The
author argues that while
luck has played a role in
the Ducks' success - in
particular, "getting lucky"
by nabbing a generous
benefactor in alumnus Phil
Knight of Nike - the Ducks
are really great because
they obtained great "return
on luck" - i.e., they made
the most of their
opportunities.
We'd go a step further to say that the Ducks helped create their own luck.
First off, Mr. Knight's success in business can be attributed, at least in part (and by Mr. Knight himself), to the education he received at the U of O. He's paying it forward to other Oregon students and athletes.
Second, the U of O athletic department made a commitment to success in their football program. They didn't wait for Phil Knight to make donations - their hard work started much sooner. And they continue to do so.
Third, as the article goes on
to remind us, Oregon's
values played a big part in
their success. It's what has
kept their coaches on staff
for, in most cases, decades
- unheard of in college
sports. In fact, tonight's
game is the last for
defensive coach Nick
Aliotti, who is retiring
after 24 years with the
program. Not cashing in on a
move to, say (ironically),
Texas, who is in a
coach-recruitment mode and
has big bucks to spend. It's
why star QB Marcus Mariotta
wants to return for his
senior year rather than
enter the lucrative NFL
draft
early.
We're
rooting for the Ducks
tonight. We hope that they
get a few breaks. But we
also just hope that they're
good - as they usually are.
Make your team a super-achiever
Is your team a
super-achiever?
A
super-achieving team is one
that performs well above the
expectations set by the
"experts." Outsiders looking
in see - or fail to see -
the talent levels of your
team and predict failure or
mediocrity. Then your team
outperforms those
expectations. By a
mile.
Three teams
come right to mind right now
in the world of
sports:
the
Boston Red Sox, who were
predicted to come in last
place in their division
(again) but won the World
Series;
the Seattle
Seahawks, who were expected
to be good but who have
surpassed all expectations
by (so far) earning the best
record in the National
Football League;
the
Portland Trail Blazers, who
were expected to be
mediocre, but who now hold
the best record in the
National Basketball
Association.
Mind
you we are not talking about
over-achievers.
Over-achievers are teams
which succeed despite their
talent, by pure luck or some
other outside force.
Over-achievers succeed for a
while - but then inevitably
fall back to their expected
(or at least, more natural)
level of success. (We won't
name names.)
Why
are these teams
super-achievers?
Because:
- They
do have talent - lots of it
- but lack "marquee" players
who demand (and receive) top
dollars and endless media
attention
- They win
far more than
expected
- They win
**because of
teamwork**
Yes.
Teamwork. That's the element
that puts them over the top.
Players picking each other
up when they have a down
day. Communicating,
trusting, selflessly helping
each other
succeed.
Build
your team's teamwork
infrastructure - and you
will build success.
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