4 THINGS THE TOP PERFORMERS DO

1. Focus on the top goals.
In our turbulent times, you can’t afford to take your eye off the key goal. Organizations fail to execute their key goals when (1) there are too many goals, (2) there are no defined goals, or (3) people get distracted from the goals.

Think about it. If you have one goal, you chances of achieving it with excellence are high. If you have two substantive goals, you have just cut in half your chances of achieving them both with excellence. Three goals make things geometrically more chancy. And so forth.

No defined goals. Too many organizations have no goals to speak of—that is, no one can speak of them because no one really knows what they are. If your success depends on a critical goal, it’s worth defining well.

People get distracted from the goals. But in bad times, the distractions are more severe than ever. The first requirement of a good execution system is that everyone must know and buy in to the key goals.

2. Make sure everyone knows the specific job to be done to achieve these goals.
Leaders decide what the goal is, but they don’t decide how to achieve it; that’s where the team comes in.

Leaders who hand down goals must give teams the time and opportunity to learn how to achieve them. By definition, every new goal requires people to do things they’ve never done before.

3. Keep score.
Smart leaders know that there are two kinds of measures to watch: lag measures and lead measures. Lag measures are the ones we usually think of because they tell us what just happened. Lead measures, on the other hand, are predictive and influenceable. They tell you what is likely to happen. You can control them.

A weak leader focuses only on lag measures.

A strong leader focuses on lead measures. She helps the team isolate three or four key actions the team can control and that are most likely to bring the desired results. Then she tracks those actions consistently.

4. Set up a regular cycle of follow-through.
The mistake leaders often make is to announce a grand goal and then sit back in luxurious expectation that it will happen. If you never ask about the goal, you team members won’t care about it. They have plenty to do already. If you don’t revisit progress on the goal regularly and frequently, team members will conclude that you didn’t mean it, and they will go do what they normally do.

From "Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times"
By Stephen R. Covey and Bob Whitman

GARY BLAIR AGGIE COACHING ACADEMY

First and foremost, let me say thanks to all of those that have inquired and already registered for our coaches academy -- it's extremely exciting to see this kind of support.

Here is the updated information for discounted lodging at the Hawthorne Suites:

Hawthorn Suites – College Station is providing a discount to any coaches attending the Gary Blair Aggie Coaching Academy. Simply call and tell them that you are with the “Aggie Coaching Academy” and they will be good to go.

You will need to provide the reservation attendant with the group rate code which is below. Also below is the phone number that each person needs to call for their reservation.

GROUP CODE: TCC
Reservation Phone # 979-695-9500
Hawthorn Suites-College Station

We are very excited to announce today the dates of the inaugural Gary Blair Texas A&M Aggie Coaching Academy. The dates for the Academy will be August 11-12. This will be a unique experience because our Aggie basketball team will be available for demonstration purposes as we prepare for our summer tour in Italy.

Here is a look at the two-day schedule of the Academy:

Saturday - August 11, 2012
12:30 Registration

1:30 Practice Philosophy (Coach Blair)

2:00 Perimeter Workout (Coach Bond)

3:30 Post Workout (Coach Starkey)

4:45 Dinner

6:00 Aggie Team Practice

8:30 Coaches' Social

Sunday - August 12, 2012
8:00 Breakfast

9:00 Shooting Workout (Coach Wright)

9:30 Aggie Program Stations

       Motivating Today's Student-Athletes

        Creating Recruitable Student-Athletes

        The Art of Scouting

        Strength & Conditioning

11:30 Facilities Tour

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Defensive Conditioning (Coach Starkey)

2:00 Aggie Team Offense (Coach Blair)

3:00 Q&A with the Aggie Staff

Cost for the Academy is only $50 and includes all three meals listed as well Coaches' Social. Also included will be an Academy Notebook that will include sections on philosophy, motivation, scouting, conditioning, recruiting, playbook and practice planing. There will also be a DVD provided later with footage of the various sessions.

More on the clinic from our website including links to register online: http://bit.ly/Lnei7p

We are also working on discounted hotel rates and will be announcing that soon as well.

You can also get updates by "likiing" our Gary Blair Coaching Academy Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/LMufUi

A UNIFYING VISION STATEMENT

Five characteristics for a unifying vision statement from Jon Gordon's tremendous book "Soup."

1. It had to be a vision everyone could rally around.

2. It needed to capture the essence and spirit of the business and to be something the organization could share with words and reinforce through actions.

3. It needed to remind everyone what Soup, Inc., stood for and to serve as the North Star that kept everyone on track.

4. It needed to be easy to remember by leaders and employees so they could live and breathe it every day. It couldn’t exist only on a piece of paper in a filing cabinet. It needed to come alive in the hearts, minds, and actions of everyone at Soup, Inc.

5. It had to be clear, simple, energizing, and compelling.

COACH K: DON'T ASSUME

"One of the worst things anybody can do is assume.  I think fools assume.  If people have really got it together, they never assume anything.  They believe, they work hard, and they prepare -- but they don't assume."

-Mike Krzyzewski

CONCEPTS FROM A CHUCK DALY PRACTICE

Chuck didn’t believe in using many drills, instead he had a couple of good ones for each phase of the game. His belief was that the players had to see and practice the “whole” part of offensive and defensive styles of play. He was concerned about players ability to have a “transfer of learning” from frills to games.

Chuck believed that it should be quick, efficient and have clarity. Most of all, he wanted his team to leave there with great sense of confidence that they were ready to win. He didn’t want to overload the players with information. We would simply go over only a couple of players based on the frequency of the plays that our opponent what run. The BIG thing that we stressed is how are they going to defend our Pick and Rolls, Post-ups and what plays might we use in this game. We wanted to provide the answers to our team and them a lot of confidence they were ready for them. We see too many coaches more concerned with everything that our opponent does and NOT providing “solutions” for their team.

From "Chuck Daly Coaching" by Brendan Suhr

I CHOSE TO FOLLOW MY HEART

I’m going to share a little secret with you. Running has always been a source of my stamina. Early in my career I learned to run until I was tired, then run even more after that. But all the running I did before the fatigue and pain was just the introduction to my workout. The real conditioning began when the pain set in. That was when if was time to start pushing. That was when I would count every mile as extra strength and stamina.

What counts in the ring is what you can do after you’re exhausted. The same is true of life.

Outrun the people who quit when they feel discomfort, outrun the people who stop because of despair, outrun the people who are delayed because of prejudice, outrun the people who surrender to failure, and outrun the opponent who loses sight of the goal. Because if you want to win, the will can never retire, the race can never stop, and faith can never weaken.

My heart told me one thing and my mind told me another. And when I had to decide between them, I chose to follow my heart.

From "The Soul of a Butterfly"
by Muhammad Ali with Hana Yasmeen Ali

RICK PITINO: BE FEROCIOUSLY PERSISTENT

It’s persistence that makes you great. It’s persistent that allows you to reach your dreams.

It’s persistence that enables you to perform at your fullest potential.

To achieve peak condition, virtually all the great overachievers I have known compete against themselves.

Failure is only fertilizer for future success.

The only time failure is truly bad is if you use it as an excuse to quit.

I’ve never known a successful person who isn’t organized.

From "Success is a Choice"
by Rick Pitino

THE FIVE BESETTING SINS OF A GENERAL

The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to recieve him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.

There are five dangerous faults that may affect a general, of which the first two are: recklessness, which leads to destruction; and cowardice, which leads to capture.

Next there is a delicacy of honor, which is sensitive to shame; and a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults.

The last of such faults is oversolicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble, for in the long run the troops will suffer more from the defeat, or at best, the prolongation of the war, which will be the consequence.

These are the five besetting sins of a general, ruinious to the conduct of war.  When an army is overthrown and its leader slain, the cause will surely be found among these five dangrous faults. 

From "The Art of War"
by Sun Tzu (edited by James Clavell)

SIMPLICITY ISN'T EASY

I have greatly enjoyed reading "Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success" by Ken Segall. The introductory chapter is titled “The Simple Stick.” People that worked for Apple would talk about when one of their ideas was shot down by Steve Jobs as being “hit with the simple stick.” Segall translated is at: “Steve had rejected their work – not because it was bad but because in some way it failed to distill the idea to its essence. It took a turn when it should have traveled a straight line.”

Here’s what else Segal said:

The Simple Stick symbolizes a core value within Apple. Sometimes its help up as inspiration; other times it’s wielded like a caveman’s club. In all cases, it’s a reminder of what sets Apple apart from other technology companies and what makes Apple stand out in a complicated world: a deep, almost religious belief in the power of Simplicity.

Having played a lead role in the marketing of Intel, Dell, and IBM, as well as Apple, I can assure you that Apple’s focus on Simplicity is unique. It goes beyond enthusiasm, beyond passion, all the way to obsession.

By no means am I saying that Simplicity is the sole factor behind Apple’s success. Leadership, vision, talent, imagination, and incredibly hard work may have just a bit to do with it. But there’s one common thread that runs through it all. That’s Simplicity.

Simplicity not only enables Apple to revolutionize – it enables Apple to revolutionize repeatedly.

If Apple’s obsession with Simplicity is so obvious, and the financial results are equally obvious, why on earth aren’t other technology companies simply copying Apple’s methods to achieve the same level of success?

The quick answer: It ain’t easy.

Simplicity is not merely a layer that can be grafter onto a business. It isn’t available in a prepackaged version. It doesn’t work with an on/off switch. Yet it’s there for absolutely anyone to take advantage of, if only they have the determination and knowledge.

WHAT IS YOUR PLAYER DEVELOPMENT PLAN?

The following comes from "Finding The Winning Edge" by Bill Walsh -- quite possibly one of the best coaching resource book ever written:

A team should do everything possible to ensure that the skills and talents of each player on its roster are developed, refined, and utilized in an appropriate way. A team’s players are obviously the core building blocks (i.e., human capital) for a successful organization. One of the best investments a team can make in those “building blocks” is to establish a systematic plan to train and develop its players to their fullest potential.

The essence of such a plan is to create an environment where meaningful learning can offur.

The progress of each player should be measured. All instructive procedures and programs should be reevaluated and changed, as appropriate. Constructive feedback and encouragement should be provided to each player.

“There is no greater waste of a resource

than that of unrealized talent.”

–Theodore Roosevelt