Think Big. Live Small. I started my teaching career at my alma mater, St. Paris Graham High School in rural southwest Ohio. Graham, named after 4-H founder AB Graham, was known for a few things, but we were most well known for our incredibly successful wrestling program.
Jeff Jordan, a legend in the wrestling world, was the head coach while I taught and coached at Graham. His teams won a state championship in every season he was the head coach. They also claimed a few national championships, which isn’t bad for a rural public school of about 700 students. After seven titles in a row and an eighth clearly on the way, I asked Coach Jordan how he kept the edge to maintain the level of wrestling year after year. It caught him off-guard. His first response was, “what do you mean?” Surely he knew they were the best. How do you improve on being the best? Jordan explained, “There are thirteen weight classes. I want us to have thirteen individual state champions. If we get thirteen state champions, then I want us to have thirteen pins in the state championship match. Winning the state is something that happens as a result of dominating. We want to dominate.” I wasn’t thinking big enough. Why Should We Care? Our dreams, or thinking, limit us more often than it elevates us. We are much quicker to point out, to ourselves and others, where we will likely fail rather than our potential success. We limit ourselves far more than others limit us. However, thinking big is only half of the puzzle. Along with that vision of thirteen state championships in thirteen weight classes, Coach Jordan’s teams worked. A lot … to the extent that seemed unreasonable to people outside of his program. The time, the effort, and the sacrifice were extreme. For those that shared the vision, it just became the norm or what was required. It became an investment rather than a sacrifice. And, most importantly Coach Jordan and his wrestlers ignored those that didn’t share the vision. They were not in the arena, so their opinion was obsolete. They trained as if they had never won a match, and like their next match was the most important one of the year. They practiced as if each takedown drill would perfect that one move that would seal the state championship. Details, execution, and repetition were the means. They thought big, but they lived small. REAL TALK - Action Steps Thinking big and living small is a challenging paradox. Big dreams often lead to a disregard for the basics and fundamentals. Yet, the basics and fundamentals only provide so much power when not coupled with the vision of our potential. Here are a few ideas to help with thinking big and living small.
We need to be sure to not limit ourselves with small thinking or big living. Thinking big and living small provides the narrow path to excellence. For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com. We would love to know how we could help!
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 Moments of TruthWe are slow to add things to our program and culture. I believe what you choose to add, or not add, is very indicative of the clarity of your culture. I clearly remember the days of sitting in coaching clinics, scribbling every word down, and mentally committing to changing pretty much everything we were doing.
The same was true with each book I would read. Everything was a good idea. Everything was better than what we were doing. But at some point I realized, while I was spending time being someone else, I wasn’t being myself. Rather than incorporating some ideas that would enhance what we were doing, I was constantly trying to change it all. That’s one of the clearest signs of a lost culture. Why Should We Care? As we gain clarity of what we value, our culture will solidify. Our core values serve as the foundation for that clarity and provide us with a distinct guide to what should, and what should not be, a part of our culture. Strong cultures know exactly who they are. They know when to say yes, but, more importantly, they know when to say no. Their moment of truth is pure. It never waivers. If an opportunity enhances their core values, they’re all in. If an opportunity compromises any aspect of their core values, they’re all out. Moment of Truth is a term we added to our program this season. Its addition has provided us with a great platform to discuss several topics in and out of basketball. A Moment of Truth, for us, is the instant of a decision. Particularly a decision in which you can choose a path of character or compromise. Character is what you should do, your job, your values, what would make you proud. Compromise is taking the easy path, cutting corners, giving a substandard effort, what you might regret. Honoring the Moment of Truth is always the goal. REAL TALK - Action Steps The application of the Moment of Truth is literally endless. In basketball, we apply it to running in transition, boxing out or rebounding, and screening for teammates. It seems we find a new way to apply it each week. Here are a few more general ideas for adding it to your culture.
Your Moment of Truth is something to be acutely aware of. Now that you’ve been introduced to it, you’ll begin to see, and feel it, when those times present themselves. Honor them with a choice that supports your values and the person you want to be. For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com. We would love to know how we could help!  Seeing Is Not BelievingThe season of Santa brings us all a little closer to our inner-child. We love to perpetuate the silly belief of a man dressed in red, flying around the world delivering presents on a sleigh powered by super-natural reindeer. Seems just a little far-fetched, right? Of course it does. And, that’s perfectly fine. It’s actually better than fine, it’s exactly how it should be. See, kids don’t need to see it to believe it. They just believe, site unseen. Sure they get pictures, stories, and a random glimpse at a department store to preserve the idea but in large part they believe for one simple reason: they want to believe. Why Should We Care? The whole ‘see it to believe’ mindset sets us up for failure in two directions. First of all, the work. If we wait until we can see it before we start working, we’re never going to grasp our full potential. Excellent performers in any field are not waiting to see concrete results before they decide to invest. It’s quite the opposite. They invest in the work in full belief that results will follow. People love to put in the extra work when they see an opportunity in front of them - a big game, a presentation, a potential promotion or move into the starting lineup. We see it all the time: “Big game, let me get some extra work in.” It’s too late now. The work for a big game was done months, if not years ago. We should have been working like it was in front of us then, not now. We waited to see it when we should’ve just believed it. Second, the potential. Henry Ford believed it before it was here. So did Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver, and Marie Curie. The vision in their mind was clear only to them. It was their belief that drove them. Not only did these revolutionary minds not see it, they were completely surrounded by people that had never seen anything like what they believed in. It was literally impossible for anyone to have seen it. Our journey is not that far removed. Our life is unique from anyone else’s. No one knows our potential. If we choose to wait to see before we believe, it’s likely we’ll never know our potential either. In reflection, understanding we had failed to even approach our potential must be one of the most demoralizing realization there could be. Living backwards, seeing to prepare rather than preparing to see, is as damaging to the trajectory of our life as any choice we make. REAL TALK - Action Steps As is usually the case, kids have it right - before we adults screw them up by speaking reality to them. Reality is such a drab place to live. Here are a few ideas on maintaining belief without proof.
We don’t need to see it to believe it. We must believe it in order to ever see it. For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com. We would love to know how we could help!  If You Say SoThe words we choose are important. Not only the ones we say but also the ones that go unsaid. Regardless of whether we choose to release our thoughts into the world, the moment we think it, we release it to our world.
Everything is what you say it is. For you, that is an undeniable truth. There is no way of avoiding it. The way you choose to see the world is your reality, your truth. And that reality is ultimately nothing more than a reflection of your attitude towards all the occurrences in your life. In the abstract this can be difficult to fully embrace, so let’s get more specific and focus on one area in which our perception creates a very real reality: hard work. Why Should We Care? I have not met too many people that do not want to be considered a hard worker. Most people will quickly concede the importance of working hard as part of being any form of success or excellence. It’s a given, right? But, what is hard work? Is it an extra five hours a week? Five more reps in the weightroom? Working through lunch every day? The answer to these questions is clearly … yea, maybe. See, it matters less about what it is and more about what you say it is. If you believe you are “out here grinding”, for example, you will likely begin to do and experience things that you think people that ‘grind’ do. Such as having an increased confidence, spending more time at work, and associating yourself with other hard workers. While this sounds like a good thing, with a little observation you realize that everyone’s idea of hard work is drastically different. What is considered hard work to one person is moderate to the next. This gap can sometimes be significant. The results will eventually reflect the difference. There is a fairly simple solution to this one however - eliminate the idea of hard work. It’s all just work. Part of the process necessary to become great or reach your goals. It’s not hard work, it’s just what you need to do. Stop buying into the whole ‘grinding’ nonsense. Those striving for excellence never view it like that. There is a threshold for work. It’s neither hard nor easy. It’s just work. It’s not considered ‘grinding’. It’s just doing what is necessary. REAL TALK - Action Steps Understanding that everything is what you say it is, goes both ways. It can lift you up or pull you down depending on your personal standards. While being too high is a risk, I find that holding too low of a standard is the larger risk. Here are a few ways other than work that we see the limits at work.
Everything is what you say it is. Good or bad, right or wrong, it is what you say it is - to you anyway. One of the biggest challenges of leadership is realizing that this axiom is true for others too. Leading them will require us to understand what they say it is. For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com. We would love to know how we could help!  I Can Lose With YouTalent is a great thing. It’s obviously necessary in order to perform at a high level in any field. We train, work, and practice all in an effort to maximize the talent we’ve been given. As any coach will tell you, the Jimmies and Joes do matter.
In sports the effort to attract, recruit, and develop the best talent is never ending. This can be said for the corporate world as well. Our team is never talented to the point that we are no longer trying to garner more. While it is important and greatly impacts our chance of ‘winning’, as leaders it would benefit us greatly to consider the possibility of the other side of the coin. Who can help us win is important. But, who we are willing to lose with may be just as important. Why Should We Care? I don’t know about you, but I’ve had some things not go my way. I’ve lost and been lost. I’ve struggled to find answers to problems our team has had in front of them. I’ve taken risks and failed miserably. Things aren’t easy. Excellence isn’t easy and leadership surely isn’t either. We can’t count on a lot of things in the world, but it seems like facing adversity is as much of a sure thing as there is out there. With that realization in mind, who we face that adversity with turns out to be a pretty big decision. We’re going to get through it. I mean, if you’re reading this you’re literally undefeated against all the adversity you’ve faced to this point in your life. Surviving should not be the goal though. What we often fail to realize is how much the people around us impact whether we are choosing to survive adversity or choosing to attack it. I’ve found it helpful to ask yourself one critical question when it comes to the people you surround yourself with: Can you lose with them? That single question provides significant insight. When we dig into the question, we quickly discover why. People we can lose with do things the right way. They pay attention to details. They care about the team and what the team is trying to accomplish. They work hard. They don’t make excuses. They persist. They ask questions. They laugh. They smile. And the people we can’t lose with? Well, they don’t do that stuff. We feel as if we’ve sold a piece of our soul when we lose with these people. And, if we’re honest with ourselves, winning with them isn’t quite as fulfilling either. REAL TALK - Action Steps So, who are these people? What do they do that makes them people you could lose with? Here are a few thoughts on helping you to identify just who these people are for you.
People we can lose with honor the process excellence requires. Sometimes the results don’t follow the timeline we would like, but we can live with that. We are constantly impacting, and being impacted by, the people around us. We must be intentional to consider whether or not we are willing to lose with the people around us. When we can say ‘yes’ to that, we have the team we want. For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com. We would love to know how we could help!  Our VoiceIn the pursuit of excellence, communication is required. And, that goes for everyone. No one is exempt from that requirement. It’s easy to make the claim that we are leaders by example, which in our minds, somehow relieves us of the responsibility. It doesn’t.
As a matter of fact, if we’re operating within a team setting, it makes us selfish. That’s right, selfish. By refusing to use our voice, we are clearly communicating to our teammates that our personal comfort is of greater importance than anything we might be able to do together as a team. Leaders that only lead by example are just bad leaders. It’s the bare minimum of leadership qualifications. It’s like a mechanic that is only good with a hammer. Great, as long as a hammer is all that is needed, which, of course, is never the case. Just as leading by example is never the only thing needed. Why Should We Care? We should care because we need to raise the standard for what we consider a leader. Consistently doing what you are expected to do does not make you a leader. Going beyond what is expected of you doesn’t even make you a leader. It makes you ambitious. It makes hard working. It makes you proactive. But, it doesn’t make you a leader. A leader inspires a group to collectively embrace a challenge and take action. Merely, doing does not do this for one simple reason: relationships. Inspiration of any kind is truly only realized through the development of relationships. Sure, we may be motivated in the short-term by watching someone do something heroic or honorable. That’s not inspiration. Inspiration persists. It hangs on through the lean times and explodes in the good times. We don’t inspire without relationships and we don’t have relationships without using our voice. The ability, or should I say willingness, to use our voice is critical to our impact as a leader. Using our voice is more than yelling at people or holding them accountable, though that is part of it. Aside from casting the vision of the team, nothing is more important in a leaders domain of control than his willingness to uphold the standards of the team. Our actions are not enough to do this. We must use our voice. The casting of the vision needs more attention. As a leader, our most critical duty is to cast a vision of where our team is going. That vision must be worth the sacrifice we are asking our followers to make. It has to be important, make a difference. And, we need to be casting it all the time, every day, in everything we do. What we do matters. And, what we say, or don’t say, matters just as much. REAL TALK - Action Steps It’s easy to say we have to communicate as leaders, but what are we communicating? Talking just to talk doesn’t help anything. Here’s a few ideas on impactful areas to use your voice to enhance your leadership.
Leading by example is not a type of leadership, it’s a tool of a leader - part of what makes a leader. No leadership exists without our voice to cast the vision, hold the standard, and connect to our people. For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com. We would love to know how we could help!  Respect: It's All Or NothingRespect is defined as the due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others; per my quick Google search. I think we can agree that’s a pretty accurate description of respect.
Notice it says “due regard”, not ‘mostly regard’, or ‘kinda-sometimes regard’. There is no gray area, no fringe, levels of respect. You either respect someone, or something, or you don’t. In regards to leadership, let’s focus on two subjects for which our respect is required: All people and our process. All people, as in, all of them. Not just the ones on your team. Not just the ones you like. Not just the ones that agree with you. And, not just the ones that can help you get what you want. All of them. Your process, as in, how you go about doing what you do. Your process is something you get to choose. Choose wisely, then respect it. Don’t waiver or go half in on the process you decided was best. Either fully commit or decommit. Respect your process or change it, then respect that one. Why Should We Care? There may not be a more accurate warning than the observation about someone that’s rude to the waiter. If you are rude to the waiter, then you’re rude. Arguments and justifications can range from far fetches to understandable rational. None of them make it ok because respect isn’t something that has to be earned. Respect is something we choose to give. In leadership, we should choose to give it freely. It’s not a limited commodity. Respect is something everyone is deserving of just because … because that’s how you treat people. When we start respecting some people, but not respecting others we quickly jeopardize any trust we have established with our team. That’s unstable ground on which to grow your team and impact. Instead of thinking about the true purpose and mission of the group, people lose their sense of safety and begin protecting themselves. Excellence isn’t attainable without the vulnerability, and fallibility, needed to truly go for it. And, then there is the matter of respecting the process. Partial commitment to the process is no commitment to the process. We like the process when it leads quickly to the results we desire. We like the process when it helps us fit in and feel like we belong. We like the process when it doesn’t require grave amounts of discomfort. The process is awesome in the middle. The extremes is where we struggle to maintain a respect for the process. Success belittles it and failure deems it incompetent. Of course, neither are true, but you can’t tell us when things are going really well, or really poorly. How quickly we dismiss the very process that led us to the height of our success or the necessary adversity we inevitably face before reaching that higher ground. REAL TALK - Action Steps Respect is a value most people aspire to have. Few people desire to be disrespectful. The growing problem is people’s lack of awareness in regards to what respect looks like in action. Disrespectful behavior has become accepted far too much. Here are a few ways respect can be displayed in all aspects of life.
Respect is an absolute behavior. You either are, or you aren’t. There is no replacing it in leadership or life. For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com. We would love to know how we could help!  Be ThankfulI have four core values that I try to live my life by. I believe living these values daily allow me to be my authentic, true self - the person I was meant to be. I found, not created, them in a time I was struggling with the gap between the person I was and the person I wanted to be. I’m grateful for the adversity that led me to that awareness.
My other values are tough, passionate, and unified. Each originated as an aspirational value, something I wasn’t yet, but wanted to be. I found them by looking at the people in my life that I admired. Afterall, just like there are reasons I don’t want to be around someone, there are also things about people that draw me to them. Many times, the values we see in others that we admire is this magnet. We have an inner desire to be with people that value the same things that we value. As I looked at the people in my life, thankfulness or gratitude quickly rose to the surface as something I wanted to embody. And, my mom was the standard bearer for thankfulness in my life. Why Should We Care? For each of my core values I created behaviors to accompany them. The behaviors allow the values to come to life, for me to live them daily. My behavior for thankfulness is to show love. As I reflected on why I connected thankfulness to my mom, one thing stood out: she always showed it. Whether it was getting up at 5:30am to fix my breakfast before school or bringing home my favorite snack from the grocery, she consistently showed me that she loved me by doing. Her selflessness and willingness to go out of her way expressed one thing over and over: I love you. Of course, she still says it at the end of a phone call or as we are leaving her house but the thoughtful actions when I wasn’t with her to let me know that she’s still thinking about me is what truly communicated her gratitude for me. In addition, my mom only has great days. Her positive attitude and outlook on life are inspiring. Of course, I know they aren’t all great but she refuses to bog your life down with complaints or a bad attitude. She’s always thankful. REAL TALK - Action Steps Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It’s not polluted with the need to give or receive gifts, just an opportunity to share time and appreciation for people you love. Here are a few thoughts our team had on what Thankful looks like in action.
The most important thing I’ve taken from my mom in regards to thankfulness is that we have to express it. Gratitude not expressed is like an unopened gift. We need to share it and allow it to lift others. We will never fully comprehend the potential ripple effects of one “Thank you.” For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com. We would love to know how we could help!  Be Like SaltGrowing up in the country with a southern grandma living right beside us, Sunday lunches were something of an event each week. My grandma would get up early in the morning and immediately begin cooking. Fried potatoes, green beans, ham, gravy and biscuits, grits, pancakes, mush … you name it and we had it on Sunday afternoons. She cooked it all and she loved every minute of it. I’m pretty sure cooking food for her family was her love language, if that’s a thing. All of our family in the area would come to Granny’s house to eat lunch just about every week. Occasionally, the rest of the family would be busy so it would just be us - my mom, dad, and brother. That had no impact on the quantity of food she fixed.
Now, as a southern grandma, taste always trumped nutrition. Salt was always something that was used graciously. Pretty much anything tasted better with salt, a fact not neglected by Granny. The salt shaker at my mom and dad’s house is still the size of a soup can with a handle. Mom is gracious with the salt as well. I enjoy salt on most things, but over the years I have realized some things can be over salted or may even not require any salt at all. It just depends. Why Should We Care? Leadership is much the same way. The best leaders know just the right amount of salt to apply. Too much salt and you become a micromanager that doesn’t foster growth in the people you lead. Overbearing and controlling creates overbearing and controlling. Leadership requires the opportunity to fail and try again. Dowsing the situation with salt simply covers up the mistake and while we may be able to get it down, we’ve learned nothing about how to get it right the next time. That’s the problem with overbearing and controlling, you have to keep doing it - forever. Not enough salt isn’t any good either. We are left wondering ‘what could have been’. This is particularly frustrating to those pursuing excellence. They want growth and development more than anything. An absent leader fails to provide the structure and support to help move those excellence seekers forward. They will, rather quickly, move on and you will be left with people content with mediocrity. Now, just the right amount of salt is amazing. It’s perfect. It keeps us coming back for more. As leaders, when we apply just the right amount of salt our people feel safe, appreciated, and vital to our mission. They bring their best self, and work, to the team each day out of duty and love for what they’re doing. Oh, and as the leader, you are always responsible for the amount of salt added. Too much salt, it’s your fault. Not enough salt, it’s your fault. Just the right amount of salt … your team did that, you don’t even exist. REAL TALK - Action Steps Granny used salt liberally, but she always seemed to get it just right. Here’s a few ideas on helping you do the same.
The other thing about the perfect amount of salt, no one notices it. As is the case with great leadership, it operates behind the scenes and goes unnoticed as if it’s not there at all. For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com. We would love to know how we could help!  Prisoners of the MomentIt’s so easy isn’t it?
To be caught up in the whirlwind of success or the misery of failure. Both stunt progress and impede growth. It really can be debilitating from either direction. Success has a knack for convincing us that we’ve arrived, that we’re good enough. It jumps at the slightest opportunity to flatter us into becoming impressed with ourselves. Justifying that we could accomplish the same things with just a little less work, a little less struggle is the very description of complacency. Then, we wonder what happened? Where our warm and fuzzy success went. It’s still in the exact same place we left it. Failure shows us the other side of the coin. It points us to the futility of the work we’ve invested. Failure begs for excuses to soothe the ego that wants to be impressed by itself. We rationalize all the obstacles we have that others aren’t encumbered by. And, we begin to lower the standards of expectation to the point that we no longer feel the pain of failure. Good enough, begins to be our calling card. Why Should We Care? You know who is really good at not being a prisoner of the moment? Little kids and dogs. Little kids just play. No fear of embarrassment or failure and no expectation of making this crayon drawing their life’s work. They are rebels in the best sense of the word. They are unfazed with failure. Just consider the number of times a child learning to walk falls down and gets back up. At no point does he ever say, “Eh, maybe this walking thing just isn’t for me.” Kids treat success in a similar fashion. They never try to reduce their effort to the minimum necessary to accomplish the task. No way. It’s all out or nothing. Check out the kindergartner coming in from recess dripped in sweat with a hole in the knees of his pants. Less than all he had was never an option. I love dogs and much of it is for this reason. They’re never prisoners of the moment. They don’t acknowledge failure and are blind to success. Our basset hound is as detached from the approval of others as any thing on the planet. It makes me smile. And we adults think we’re the sophisticated ones … REAL TALK - Action Steps Avoiding the trap of becoming a prisoner of the moment is simple, but not easy. We’ve been trained for a long time to be victims of success and failure. A mindshift is needed badly.
We want to be present. That’s when we’re at our best. However, our ability to immediately move to the next present moment will determine our lot in life. Leaders understand that life is a series of present moments and staying in any single one limits our ability to be our best. For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com. We would love to know how we could help! |
About bcI'm a teacher, coach, and parent seeking excellence while defining success on my own terms. Archives
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