You know the quote that 90% of success is just showing up?
A client jokes that among successful people the number is closer to 100% 🙂
As he sees it, most successful people landed a successful job and then just kept showing up.
It’s a reason why it’s hard for him to find leaders.
“How many are TRULY focused on winning?” he asks.
Winning
He’s like this bold Aussie football coach who has been offending the locals.
In Australia, contrary to what people can think is the culture, you just don’t speak this way.
Even in the winningest world of sports you just kind of show up and play your game and see how you do at the end of the day.
Then you be real humble about the other team and how you gave it your best, and so on.
That’s how this coach has gotten offside with the yahoos.
He keeps talking about winning.
Winningest
He is a highly decorated coach having led his former team to winning four premierships.
After leaving and great speculation of what he’d do next he showed up to coach this new team.
Well, actually, he is returning to coach his old team, where he used to play in the eighties and nineties.
All these years later he’s returned to do something that most people were shocked that he would even sign up to do.
He is bringing his winning attitude.
And winning method.
To a losing team.
Losing-est
This losing-est team that he has rejoined is the one my family have fanatically followed since I was a kid.
They try hard, but over decades… let’s just say that winning has been elusive for them.
This new coach joined while they were languishing at the bottom of the league.
That’s what he was betting on.
And so was the team.
They were bold in the way that they went after this new coach too.
Put all of their eggs in one basket because they knew.
Even the losing-est team can quickly turn it around with the winning-est coach.
Lombardi-esque
When my brother and parents described this to me I told them that it sounded a lot like Vince Lombardi’s story.
It resembled him joining the Green Bay Packers at the bottom of the league and rising them to the top.
The things this coach says about winning also sound Lombardi-esque like these quotes I often read.
His outright desire to go for it, and back it with effort.
To play to win like it is the only thing that they are here to do.
As Lombardi put it, “Winning isn’t everything. The will to win is the only thing.”
In his soundbites alone it sounded to me that this coach had in some way been touched by Lombardi.
Indeed, he spent time in Green Bay learning from the Packers.
Desire to win
See, one thing I love about his story is that sports might be the only place left where it’s still right to talk about winning.
These days it seems that we’re all meant to be all good with losing.
Even here in America where mediocrity is rising, in this arena it’s still OK for now to be focused on winning.
It’s not entirely acceptable, as with this new coach coming back to his old team to take them from the bottom to the top it’s still seen as too in your face for him to say that he’s coming back to win.
But, that’s why he’s doing it.
He’s playing to win and he’s never afraid admitting it.
“I’ve never been with a losing team in my life, and I don’t think I’ll start now,” is how Lombardi put it.
Winning teams
One reason you know that this coach will build a winning team is because he showed up a winner.
He’s said that he’ll be here as long as it takes to win.
And you know he’s the sort of person who does what it takes.
Other winners get this and are already joining him building his winning team.
So he’s not just bringing his winning attitude.
And winning method.
He’s attracted a bunch of winners to bring with them more winning.
This too was one of the principles I modeled from Musk and Bezos in this program.
Winners win with winners.
Playing to win
I will share that a reason I wrote this to you is because it’s a throwback to the eighties for me.
“Playing to Win” is the title of this song from Aussie rock legend John Farnham.
He’s also a fan of the team this coach just joined.
This too is kind of a football song.
Not just for showing up.
For playing to win.