We take great pride in our program of having what we believe is a sound system of play. It is based on core beliefs in how the game should be played and anchored by a commitment to teach the fundamentals. But a big part of our overall system of play is flexibility.You can find flexibility in our motion offense by allowing our players to make reads and cuts a opposed to holding them back with predeterimined movement. Motion alignments allow us to play a big line up or a small line up. Our defensive system allows us to adjust through scouting reports as to how we will play. It is the same man-to-man defense but the flexibility affords us the the opportunity to defense a ball screen three different ways depending upon the strengths and weaknesses of who are are playing.
Flexibility is a critical part of our success formula. It also carries over into all faces of our program. Recruiting is another area where you must be extremely flexibile to realize results. Dealing with young people today requires flexibility. This does not mean (as with our offense and defense) that we steer from our "core beliefs" or forget our commitment to fundamental principles.
But being flexible allows you options and options are good! There was no one more tunneled vision towards fundmentals and a way of doing things than Vince Lombardi. But in his famous Packer Sweep, the ball carrier was not told he had to hit a particular hole. He was told to "run to daylight." As the runner got the ball he would read the defense. He had "flexibility" to look for the best hole to hit and than run towards it -- and thru it.
The same is true of technology. The excuse of being "old school" doesn't work when being inflexible to new ways of improving yourself and your team. Bill Parcells is another "Lombardi-like" coach that has a strong belief in how the game should be played. But he also said that if you were using yellow legal pads and your opponents were using computers that they were going to pass you by.
To improve -- to grow -- you must be open minded to new advancements. Flexibility is good! In today's email newsletter, Brian Tracy spoke of flexibility:
The Menninger Institute of Kansas City conducted a study not long ago to determine what qualities would be most important for success and happiness in the twenty-first century. They concluded after extensive research, that the most important single quality that you can develop, in a time of rapid change, is flexibility.
The Speed of Change
Today, perhaps the most important factor affecting your life is the speed of change. We are living in an age where change is taking place at a faster rate than ever before in human history. And if anything, the rate is increasing, year by year. Change today is not only faster, but it is also discontinuous, not following a straight line but starting, stopping, and moving in unpredictable directions. Change is coming at us from all sides and in so many different ways that it is often impossible to anticipate what might happen next.
A Major Cause of Stress
Change causes enormous stress for people who are fixed or rigid in their beliefs about how things “should be.” They fall in love with what they are doing, with their current methods and processes, and are unwilling to change, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. Don't let this happen to you.
Be Open to New Information
To remain flexible, you must constantly be open, alert to new ideas, information, and knowledge that can help you or hurt you in your business or in the achievement of your goals. One new idea can be enough to make or lose you a fortune. One idea can start you on the road to riches or knock you off of it.
The Tide of New Technology
The second factor driving change is the rapid growth and development of new technology. Every new piece of scientific or technical knowledge leads to an advance in technology aimed at helping people and companies get things done faster, better, cheaper, or easier. And the speed of technological change is increasing every day.
Playing Leapfrog
Being in business is like playing an endless game of leapfrog. You look for a way to leapfrog over your competitor and serve your customers, better, faster, and cheaper. Your competitor then leapfrogs over you with a new or better product or service. You quickly regroup and leap over your competitor with a new innovation or improvement. Your competitor then leaps over you, and the game goes on without end.
