Monthly Archives: July 2014

After winning four Cy Young Awards and 355 baseball games – mostly with the Braves and Cubs – Greg Maddux was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.

Two things were told to me about Maddux from former major league players that can be insightful for leaders.

Steve Parris, a University of St. Francis athlete who pitched approximately six years in the majors, once spoke to our basketball players on concentration. Who better to talk to any sport team on concentration than a Big League pitcher? After his presentation, our players had the opportunity to ask general questions about baseball. One of our players asked Steve who Big League hitters hated to bat against the most. We all thought it would be one of the great fastball pitchers – Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, etc.

Steve said it was Maddux because one thing hitters at the Big League level don’t want is to look bad at the plate. If you strike out on a 95-mile an hour fastball, everyone understands. Maddux didn’t throw 95; he just made you look bad.

Mark Grant, a Joliet Catholic High School athlete and the current voice of the San Diego Padres, was on the pitching staff at Atlanta with Maddux. He told us when the scouts would present the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing hitters prior to a series, all the pitchers listened. But Maddux not only listened; he took copious notes on all the hitters.

Another former teammate, Kevin Millwood once said that he had never known a player to be so meticulous about preparation and knowledge of batters. “’I think when he retires he could surely be a pitching coach,”’ he said. “’But he has made such a study of batters that he’d make a great hitting coach.” (Source)

Two thoughts leaders may consider. None of us, like Major League hitters, want to look bad. I think the only way to prevent looking bad is to do what Maddux did with the scouts – get prepared. Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.

Developing a system of work may be something for leaders to think about. And keeping that system simple may be the key to execution.

Earlier this month, the German soccer team beat Brazil in the semi-finals of the World Cup by the unprecedented score of 7 – 1. According to former German soccer players, their country developed a national academy of soccer whose purpose was to take the best young players in the country and teach them a particular system of play. They would all develop as players within that system. The result was Germany advancing to the semi-finals of the World Cup for the fourth consecutive time and then winning it all with a 1-0 win over Argentina earlier this month.

I once read that 90% of new restaurants fail, but 90% of franchise restaurants make it. The writer of that statement said he thought that the McDonalds’ of the world were successful because they had a system.

Equally as important as the system, per se, was that it was simple. They could bring in high school age teenagers and quickly and competently teach them their system because of its simplicity.

John Paxson was, I believe, cut from three NBA teams prior to coming to the Chicago Bulls. But when he came to the Bulls, he was a perfect fit for the Triangle Offense. The offense allowed Jordan and Pippen to penetrate and kick and Paxson was the perfect shooter to complement their driving. Steve Kerr succeeded Paxson at the shooting guard position and this offensive system enabled the Bulls to win six championships in the Jordan era.

When I served as the assistant to the president at St. Francis, our president, Dr. Jack Orr, organized all departments with the system of management by objectives. Everyone in the administration had the people who reported to them put their goals for the year with a timeline to accomplish them in writing. It was a very simple system that made all of us responsible and accountable.

We shared the goals with everyone in the department and verbally reported on our successes/failures twice a year. By operating this way, we were all on the same page, knew where our department was going, and could encourage and help each other accomplish our goals.

Should leaders look to develop a system of organization for their work place? And if so, should that system not be simple? Simple systems do lead to quality execution.

The above was the score of the German – Brazil match in the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup. And, to make matters worse, in a country where soccer is a religion, the Brazilians suffered the humiliation at home.

It wasn’t a loss; it was a total embarrassment in front of thousands of rabid fans and millions of television viewers.

The media can sometimes be nasty and add salt to the wound. An ESPN sportscaster, while his station showed hundreds of Brazilians on a beach after the game, sarcastically said each of those people represent a German goal.

This is what sport and leadership can sometimes be about.

One minute the Brazil players are heroes in their country because they are members of The National Team in one of the greatest countries in soccer history. What an achievement! However, the next minute they set a World Cup record by participating in worst margin of defeat in the history of the World Cup. Even the German team said they could not believe it when they scored five goals in eighteen minutes of the first half!

If you are an athlete or a coach for a long period of time, there most likely will come a time when sport embarrasses you. When you accept a leadership position, you are most likely setting yourself up for embarrassing moments.

How do you react to these difficult times?

Pat Riley, the former NBA player and coach and current Miami Heat president, may have addressed it best when he said, “Success is getting up one more time than you’ve been knocked down.”

It’s tough to get up, but get up you must!