Jon Gordon - Row the Boat

1 Cover

2 Title Page Row the Boat A Never-Give-Up Approach to Lead with Enthusiasm and Optimism and Improve Your Team and Culture JON GORDON P.J. FLECK

3 Copyright

4 Dedication

5 Introduction

6 Chapter 1: The Man Behind the Boat The Hard Way Make the Most of Your Opportunities Hard Work, Opportunity, and Fate

7 Chapter 2: Questions

8 Chapter 3: The Origin of Row the Boat Pain and Purpose Row the Boat An Opportunity to Row the Boat

9 Chapter 4: The Philosophy of Row the Boat Future Present Past

10 Chapter 5: Rowing the Boat at WMU A Difficult Task The Big Dig Pouring the Foundation Creating Our Framework The Windows Year

11 Chapter 6: The Three Key Components of Row the Boat The Oar The Boat The Compass

12 Chapter 7: A Bigger Opportunity and Challenge

13 Chapter 8: Rowing the Boat at the University of Minnesota A Culture in Need of Change The Harder Right Another Year One: The Dig Setting the Standard A Culture of Rowers A Roller Coaster Season: The Foundation Rest-OAR-Ation: The Framework

14 Chapter 9: A Wave of Change

15 Chapter 10: Rowing through Adversity Responding to Adversity Compass of Faith The Ultimate Response

16 Chapter 11: Beyond Football

17 Chapter 12: The Impact of Row the Boat Beyond Football Helping Families Stay Together Rowing Together

18 Chapter 13: Rowing into the Future

19 Chapter 14: Where Do You Row the Boat from Here? Make Today Better—Change Your Best Be the Reason Keep Rowing

20 Other Resources

21 Other Books by Jon Gordon The Energy Bus The No Complaining Rule Training Camp The Shark and the Goldfish Soup The Seed One Word The Positive Dog The Carpenter The Hard Hat You Win in the Locker Room First Life Word The Power of Positive Leadership The Power of a Positive Team The Coffee Bean Stay Positive The Garden Relationship Grit Stick Together The Energy Bus for Kids Thank You and Good Night The Hard Hat for Kids One Word for Kids The Coffee Bean for Kids

22 End User License Agreement

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2 Table of Contents

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JON GORDON

P.J. FLECK

Copyright © 2021 by Jon Gordon and P.J. Fleck. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

Interior photography provided by the University of Minnesota, used with permission.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Names: Gordon, Jon, 1971- author. | Fleck, P. J., 1980- author.

Title: Row the boat : a never-give-up approach to lead with enthusiasm and optimism and improve your team and culture / Jon Gordon, P. J. Fleck.

Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : Wiley, [2021]

Identifiers: LCCN 2021010915 (print) | LCCN 2021010916 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119766292 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119766315 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119766308 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Fleck, P. J., 1980- | Leadership. | Perseverance (Ethics) | Football—Coaching—Philosophy.

Classification: LCC HD57.7 .G666743 2021 (print) | LCC HD57.7 (ebook) | DDC 658.4/092—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021010915

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021010916

Cover art: © SHUTTERSTOCK | KELVIN REYNOSO

Cover design: PAUL MCCRTHY

To my children, may you always see the good in everyone and dream BIG! Know that the dream is the journey .

To our players (current and former), may you never be a better football player than you are a person .

To our staff (current and former), thank you for always making our culture look so good .