“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training.” Achilochus 650 B.C. “Under pressure, you don’t rise to the occasion, you fall to the level of your training.” Navy SEAL.
Watching the devasting Buckeye loss from a front row seat this past Saturday reminded me of these quotes and how hard it is to remain ONE, distinct and deeply connected, especially when you’re winning. Watching the Buckeyes play, this season, has reminded me of watching Buster Douglas bouts following his shocking defeat of Mike Tyson, back in the day. Buster never looked the same. Buster, kinda like our Buckeyes, once he was crowned champion, lacked the same edge, execution, and commitment to excellence. Sure the Buckeyes have been winning. They’ve been winning without edge, execution, and excellence. They’ve been winning with talent but without the kinda training, I’m guessing, that had them taking it to team after team back in the day.
Saturday, Sparty came to town feeling disrespected and with something to prove. Sparty played second and third string quarterbacks. Sound familiar? They dominated the Buckeyes on both sides of the ball and would have had a blow out if not for a couple mistakes leading to easy, short field scores. The Buckeyes were soundly beaten even though the score didn’t show it. You, leader, have a similar challenge ahead of you if your team is winning. You’ve got to train harder once you reach the pinnacle of your work. You can’t simply let them turn it on when they think they have to. Your job, if you’re a leader, is to make your team train with an edge, relentlessly focused on execution, and commited to excellence. Your job is to make them think they’re behind even when they’re way ahead. Hard to do, regardless the sport or market. Buster, Buckeyes, and all kinda teams know how hard it is to maintain an edge with execution, and excellence. What are you doing to increase the level of your training, leader. Start by kicking your own, first. Nothing keeps the team on edge more than the edge of their leader. Study Alexander the Great, you’ll see.
Saturday, I’ll be watching and cheering on our Buckeyes. I’m hoping they have a great week of training in preparation for another tough test. Today, however, I’ve got a few other teams to make do what they can. I’ve got to make them do what they can regardless their record. You too, huh, leader.
Good..
BUILT TO LEAD 