Monday, November 30, 2009

THE GREAT ONES ALWAYS STRIVE TO IMPROVE

The following comes from the "Management Secrets of the New England Patriots" by James Lavin. It should never be lost upon us that the truly great ones, players and coaches, are constantly striving to improve.

After winning his second Super Bowl in three seasons, Bill Belichick spent two days with his old Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator, Nick Saban, devising new defenses: “He had just won the Super Bowl, for crying out loud, but here he was. We went at it for two days.” Then Belichick picked Jimmy Johnson’s brain about how to hold together a Super Bowl winner:

“Jimmy’s really the only guy in this era who’s lived it, who’s dealt with what we’re dealing with, and more. Who else am I gonna talk to?”

After returning to Foxboro, Belichick went negative on his players, according to running back Kevin Faulk: “You don’t hear [talk about “dynasty”] a lot in the locker room. We know we still have a lot to work on to get to that point. As a matter of fact, we recently met to watch film and coach put up all our bad plays from last year. It’s to remind us who we are. We are no better than the next team if we don’t go out there and try to get it right on every play.”

“I’ve learned in every game and in every season. …I’ve tried to observe [everything] and learn from either the mistakes I have made-and there have been plenty-or the things that have gone well.” -Bill Belichick