What I learned from THE GAME
My team won the big game for the second year in a row. I guess since the locals call my team “that team up North,” it would be fair to say my team beat “that team from down South.” But more specifically, the University of Michigan Wolverines defeated THE Ohio State University Buckeyes in a college football matchup. With the win, Michigan goes on to play for a championship, and Ohio State awaits its fate. I was reflecting on the game.
It’s more fun to win when you are part of a team.
It’s a fun story; I share it below, about why all five of our kids root for Ohio State alongside my wife, and I root alone for Michigan. When facing a challenge or a competition, one is the loneliest number.
Because even though my team on the field won, my team sitting next to me on the couch lost. So the win didn’t feel like winning because I was alone in the success.
I had no one to high-five or share the joy with (Luckily, I was able to text back and forth with my dad, a fellow Michigan fan, but even that was done in secrecy). But it was worse than that; my victory wasn’t neutral for my family; it caused them sadness.
If you are part of a family/team, your winning shouldn’t cause other members of your family/team to lose. Win in ways others feel included. That starts with being part of a team and ends with you choosing to behave like part of the team, sharing victory and defeat as part of the team.
It’s the fundamentals that matter most
I am not a football coach, but I am a coach in other areas, including baseball. In baseball, many of the most fundamental skills are learned by playing catch. Catch is simple and should be the first thing you learn and something you do as long as you play the game. Catch is learning how to throw a ball to a partner's glove and then receive a throw from your partner and catch it in your glove. Every other aspect of defense in baseball is a variation of catch. If you can’t play catch, you can’t play defense in baseball.
During the football game, the winning team wasn’t the flashiest team or made up of the most talented individuals, but they sure did execute the fundamentals well. That execution of fundamentals during the game probably took thousands of hours of tedious repetitions and hard practice. Hundreds of moments deciding not to quit and maybe even dozens of moments wishing they could try to play like the other guys. Finally, it took leaders staying ruthlessly committed to a mission and refusing to stray from their approach. A mission and approach they established based on the players they had.
This applies to business as well. Leaders should know their mission and then evaluate their team’s skills to create a plan that leverages the unique abilities of their teams to achieve the mission. Then together, the leader and the team should work to execute the fundamentals essential to the mission. Flawless execution of fundamentals leads to consistent victory.
Stay humble in victory and defeat.
One of my kids was so confident of Ohio State’s impending victory that he talked trash beginning with the first play of the game, and when the first possession ended in an OSU touchdown, he was loud and proud. I sat quietly when OSU scored, I sat quietly while Michigan was trailing at halftime, and I sat quietly when Michigan proceeded to score 28 points in the second half on the way to victory. I sat quietly when the game was over, and my team had won.
I haven’t always been good at quiet humility. Experience has taught me the cost of pride. The reason my kids all root for OSU is because I made a bet with my wife, actually five bets. The bet was simple our child would be raised to root for whichever team won the football game the year that child was born (or adopted). I made the bet coming off a period where Michigan had won 11 of 12 games. The bet was then followed by a period where Michigan lost 15 of 16 games, including the games in all five years our children were born/adopted. I never reconsidered the bet. I just kept pridefully assuming I would win.
True winners use the perks of their status for good
In at least one of the communities you are a part of, you are the star or the sought-after expert or the one everyone wants to be around. Other people in that group look up to you and watch what you do. With that comes benefits and privileges. But also responsibilities. The world is better when people pay their privileges forward.
The Wolverines Blake_Corum24 (Instagram) used a portion of his financial benefits to buy Turkey meals for others.
The Buckeyes CJ7Stroud (Instagram) signed autographs for fans rather than sulk after a loss that he believes impacted his legacy at OSU.
These young men and the many other men and women who do similar are good examples for us all.
Conclusion
Rudyard Kipling was right in his poem IF where he said
“If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same”
We should all live like we believe that neither success nor failure is permanent. That both are more enjoyable when experienced with others. And if you want to succeed more often, determine your strengths and work at them until you can execute the fundamentals flawlessly.