Martin Rooney - High Ten

“Geez,” said Marcus. “Would've been easier to stay defensive coordinator.”

“Yes, it would,” Brian replied. “You're gonna learn there's a big difference between playing an instrument and being the conductor. As a player or a defensive coach, you only worried about a couple of positions. Now you must worry about all of them. And don't forget the conductor's got his back to the crowd because it's not about him – it's about them.”

Marcus nodded.

“You're ready to be head coach,” Brian continued. “You're now one of the most important people at this school. Football generates money for the university and other sports, and brings in fans and future students. You'll have more responsibilities, and some of them aren't enjoyable. Everyone besides you will look at things through a straw, only seeing the area for which they're responsible. But the head coach sees everything . Before, as assistant coach, you didn't care as much about team GPA or ticket sales. But now, in addition to coaching, you must build your staff and recruit with media engagements and fundraising thrown in too.”

“Ugh, sounds like a lot of work.”

“That's why the head coach gets the big bucks,” smiled Brian. “Don't forget your job description is summarized with three letters: W-I-N. Regardless of the players you recruit and the coaches you hire, it's harder to win without a confident head coach. That confidence happens when everyone's connected to the culture. Culture, like building a winning football team, doesn't happen overnight. And culture's hard to create – and even harder to change. That's why your first assignment, besides redoing this office, is deciding what to write on that brick!”

“You lost me.” Marcus smiled.

“Some teams call it a motto. Others a mantra or a slogan. I'm sure your past teams had them. But I'm talking about more than a cool quote. I want you to write an easy-to-understand summary of your culture so your team knows what it stands for … and they stand for it.”

“I understand, Coach,” said Marcus. “I have some favorites and was thinking of bringing back Coach Olsen's ‘Hold the Rope' motto. That one always worked.”

“Nah. Sounds like ‘Grandma's ham.'”

“Grandma's ham?” inquired Marcus.

“You'll like this,” Brian began. “One holiday dinner a woman was cooking ham. Before she put it in the oven, she cut off 25% of the ham and threw it away. Her young daughter was watching and asked, ‘Mom, why'd you throw away part of the ham?' Her mother said, ‘That's how your grandma did it and her ham was so good, I cut off the end too.' The little girl said, ‘Grandma's here, so let's ask her.' They asked her grandmother why she removed that portion of the ham. Her grandmother said, ‘That's how my mother did it and her ham was so good, I cut off the end too.' As luck would have it, the little girl's 89-year-old great-grandmother was not only alive, but there too! So the little girl asked her, ‘Nana, can you tell me why cutting off the end of the ham made your ham so good?' And she said, ‘Child, it had nothing to do with making it good. I cut off the end because my oven was so small, it was the only way it would fit!'”

“Another classic,” said Marcus smiling.

“Know this,” replied Brian, “using people's old stuff might not make sense to a new generation. Yes, ‘Hold the Rope' was cool, but that's Grandma's ham. This is your first team. The slogan needs to be yours too.”

“I appreciate that … and it's gonna be more work.”

“It's work that'll do work for you,” replied Brian. “The motto you write on that brick will guide your team. It should direct the team's behavior so you can spend less time ‘policing' and more time building. I want you to create something special.”

“Roger, Coach. I won't let you down.”

“I know you won't, Marcus. You've always been my greatest student. And that's why you can handle one more idea. I've been thinking about what separated my greatest teams from the less successful. It wasn't talent level. Now don't get me wrong – it's difficult to win without talent, and that's why recruiting's important. But some years I won with talented players and some years I lost. In addition to this office and working on the motto, you need to start mixing the cement that'll hold this team together.”

“With all this painting and mixing, I should've gone into construction,” laughed Marcus.

“That's not as crazy as it sounds. Culture is always under construction.” Brian grinned. “Can I explain the cement, or what?”

“Yes, Coach.”

“Good,” smiled Brian. “When I stopped coaching, I started consulting for teams and businesses. As my jobs increased, so did my time on airplanes. Spending so much time on planes got me used to delays, connections, and even airplane food. But one thing that never got easier was turbulence. One flight taught me an important lesson. From the moment I heard, ‘Flight attendants, take your jump seats!' things got ugly. The plane was bouncing so much, I gripped the handrests in fear. I thought I was handling it well, but then I saw a young girl sitting calmly in her seat. About 10 years old. I was amazed by her composure. She stayed more relaxed than anyone on the plane, including a veteran of the skies like myself. We finally passed the storm and eventually landed. I wanted her secret to staying calm. She waited for the passengers to disembark, so I waited too. Then I said, ‘Miss, the way you stayed so calm on the flight was inspiring. What's your secret?' The little girl looked up and said, ‘Sir, there's no secret. My father's the pilot and he said we were going home. I stayed calm because I trust him .'”

“Great story.”

“Your culture's cement is ‘Trust.' My greatest teams had it and my worst ones didn't. So, as the pilot of this team, when you create your motto for the brick, I want you to make sure it doesn't just inspire, but it builds trust too. After all, that's what ‘run through a brick wall for you' means – trusting someone so much you'd attempt the impossible.”

“I trust you, Coach,” said Marcus.

“That's the spirit,” said Brian. “Don't forget when you meet with them, meet them where they are, not where you want them to be. Building trust starts there.”

“Roger that. Speaking of trust, there's one thing you can do for me.”

“Already giving out orders, huh?” laughed Brian.

“Not an order, just a request, Coach. I don't know all the rules of my culture yet, but I know one of them will be no alcohol. Since I consider you part of my team, I want to know if you're on board with that.”

After a pause, Brian responded, “I can do it … Coach.”

Both men were ready to try something different. For Marcus, it was a team motto. For Brian, it was a six-pack of seltzer.

Amid the buzz of Arthur's patrons enjoying their breakfast, Sam scanned the busy seating section and thought, “Maybe he isn't coming.” Then he noticed someone waving with both arms in the back corner. That someone was Brian.

“Hey Brian,” said Sam, sitting down. “Good to see you again, and thanks for meeting. Been here long?”

“Only a few minutes,” replied Brian. “I've learned that if you're on time, you're already late for something.”

Sam scanned the restaurant. “I haven't been here in a while. This place hasn't changed a bit. It was one of my favorite haunts.”

“Me too. So you went to school here?”

“Yes. My friends and I used this place as a study hall, but Arthur's coffee also saved me after many a late night,” laughed Sam. “Should we order or is this just a meeting?”

“Actually,” smiled Brian, “my first lesson's about why we must order. If I wanted to have ‘just a meeting,' it would've been somewhere quieter. We're here to break bread .”