SELLING THE INVISIBLE (PART II): THOUGHTS ON PLANNING

This is somewhat of an unusual book review for a coaching/teaching website but when you think about it, much of coaching comes down to marketing. "Selling The Invisible," by Harry Beckwith may not be a book that a normal coach picks up to read but think about it -- how do we market our concepts that we want to get across to our players...to the media...to our fans…to the administration? The title itself says a great deal about coaching — "Selling The Invisible." Getting our players to envision how a good possession will look or how a good season will feel...get your fans to buy into your vision for the future of your program...and certainly if you are on the collegiate level, recruiting is all about selling the invisible.

Here are some short thoughts from the book that I thought corresponded with coaching:

◄You never know. So don’t assume that you should. Plan for several possible futures.

◄First, accept the limitations of planning. Don’t assume that putting eight smart people in a room with good data will automatically produce something.

◄Second, don’t value planning for its result: the plan. The greatest value of the plan is the process, the thinking that went into it.

◄Third, don’t plan your future. Plan your people. Outstanding people who fit your basic broad vision will tend to make the right decisions along the way, not by following a plan, but by using their skill.

◄Execute passionately. Marginal tactics executed passionately almost always will outperform brilliant tactics executed marginally.