There are several elements in its evolution that are worth evaluating as they pertain to your own leadership.1. Success doesn’t care which road you take to get to its doorstep.
The traditionalists – rigid and resistant in their thinking - who sneered at the new passing system I was creating were soon trying to figure out why it was beating them and how to copy it.
2. Be bold. Remove fear of the unknown – that is, change – from your mind.
Respect the past without clinging to it: “That’s the way we’ve always done it” is the mantra of a team setting itself up to lose to an organization that’s not doing ti that way nay more. Paul Brown didn’t flinch when I came to him with my revolutionary ideas – a completely new system of playing offensive football. By nature he was an innovator who wasn’t afraid of change.
3. Desperation should not drive innovation.
Here’s a good question to write on a Post-it Note and put on your desk: “What assets do we have right now that we’re not taking advantage of?” Virgil Carter’s “limited” skills, the 53.5 yards of width, and the availability of five potential receivers were all available assets even before desperation drove me to utilize them creatively. While waiting to get what you want - a “quarterback with a strong arm” – make the most of what you’ve got.
4. Be obsessive in looking for the upside in the downside.
My evaluation of Virgil Carter’s “weak” resume, his so-called limited assets, led directly to utilizing them productively. Why? Instead of looking for reasons we couldn’t make it work, I sought solutions that would make it succeed.
From "Score Takes Care of Itself"
By Bill Walsh with Steve Jaminson and Craig Walsh
