LinkedIn Article: Harbaugh Lessons for the Business World
You know your coach is doing something right when the business world is taking notice. The author, who acknowledges that his audience "could care less about American college football," derives lessons on business recruiting from Harbaugh's antics.
February 17th, 2016 at 10:46 AM ^
It linked to (*image by MGoBlog!)
February 17th, 2016 at 10:41 AM ^
Maybe I'm just in a douchey mood and deserve all the negs I get, but why do people always assume that success in one area automatically translates into universal lessons for success in totally disparate areas? I've been to a variety of business conferences where they bring in a highly paid speaker to give us "lessons for success," and oftentimes they are retired athletes and coaches (once, Lou Holtz himself). And I almost always think, "what does this guy know? He spent his entire career managing kids playing a game, which is incredibly different from what I do."
If you think I'm being unfair, remember that we just experienced an incredible failure based on the opposite idea, that is, that business success automatically translates into sports success (i.e. Dave Brandon)...
February 17th, 2016 at 10:45 AM ^
I think because there are some universal traits that apply to similar situations. The article wasn't revolutionary in that way to make the comparison, but pretty sweet it was about Harbaugh. Don't feel bad, I'm in a douchey/shitty mood today as well. Had a 9am meeting today that if given the choice to chew broken glass or have the meeting again, I'd opt for the broken glass.
February 17th, 2016 at 10:50 AM ^
The article wasn't revolutionary in that way to make the comparison, but pretty sweet it was about Harbaugh.
Precisely why I posted it.
I already forgot the author's name.
February 17th, 2016 at 10:55 AM ^
The author was no Bill Shakespeare.
Wow, you can get a shirt...
February 17th, 2016 at 10:51 AM ^
I had a 7 am call with a client in the Middle East that lasted two hours. It could have been an email.
And I agree, there are some VERY broad traits leaders in most fields share. But that is about as useful as saying, "Being on time is important" as something that applies across fields...
February 17th, 2016 at 10:50 AM ^
I agree that people are too quick to think that successful approaches translate easily across different fields. However, I do feel that the discerning person can learn alot from hearing about what works in a disparate field and THINK HARD about what does and does not translate.
February 17th, 2016 at 10:56 AM ^
I absolutely agree with this. The problem is, people often don't do the "hard thinking" part. I just had a buddy (who is an exec at a large area company) tell me the story of a former football player who is also an exec at the company (from a large prominent university in the area), and the guy apparently thinks he can treat his subordinates like they are freshman players on the team. Obviously the guy rose to be an exec, but still, he is apparently a nightmare to work for and with and everyone knows it.
February 17th, 2016 at 11:26 AM ^
Hey without that assumption, the thriving airport business books industry would be dead.
Why do you hate hack authors fomo?
February 17th, 2016 at 11:31 AM ^
Lou Holtz is a bad example. But, I bet Harbaugh could run your company and at minimum provides a good model for leadership in your various businesses. His traits: Vision, enthusiasm, charisma, integrity, infectious dedication to the mission, builds an effective team culture, zeal for perfect execution, stickler for the details, leads by example (works the hardest, gets his hands dirty, etc.), treats all people no matter their place in the organization the same, runs a true meritocracy and lives by it, hires the best most talented people because he's wise enough to know he can't do it alone, deflects all praise to and gives all credit to his players (employees) and assistants, keeps everything "inside the house".
Could probably go on here but you get the jist. It's rare people like Harbaugh (and many others) would who probably succeed in any chosen field and that's why they are asked to speak.
February 17th, 2016 at 5:40 PM ^
Casey Stengel was a Banker.........
February 17th, 2016 at 12:29 PM ^
February 17th, 2016 at 2:22 PM ^
to some extent. I don't know if Lou Holtz could teach me anything about business, but perhaps Bill Belichick could.
I definitely think there is some value in hearing and reading about what people in other fields do and say. Whether it is a football team, a nonprofit, a military unit or a business you're facing some of the very same organizational challenges along the way.
I for example like to read and view a lot about approaches in both warfare and firefighting even though neither area has to do with my field (IT). But I find it very instructive because there's a lot of similarities really to any field in business. Issues such as strategy vs tactics, strategies of communication, risk mitigation, leadership culture etc..are vital for everyone but the element of danger in those fields amplifies things and gives things a focus you may not get if you purely read about business.
If I read about what went wrong for the Union army at Fredricksburg, what went wrong in the South Canyon Fire, I get some pretty acute and brutal insights on organizational behavior that certainly apply in my field as well - even if the consequences are a lot less stark.
February 17th, 2016 at 10:42 AM ^
I guess the passion translates to the business world, but I don't see my HR director having sleepovers.
February 17th, 2016 at 11:29 AM ^
That you know of.....you know what they say, the quickest way to the top is to go down.
February 17th, 2016 at 10:42 AM ^
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February 17th, 2016 at 10:51 AM ^
I'm totally hitting Harbaugh up on LinkedIn. I wonder what his skills profile looks like?
February 17th, 2016 at 10:54 AM ^
February 17th, 2016 at 11:26 AM ^
February 17th, 2016 at 11:30 AM ^
Dildos have email accounts now? Technology is taking over!
February 17th, 2016 at 11:57 AM ^
February 17th, 2016 at 11:56 AM ^
February 17th, 2016 at 12:43 PM ^
I work at one of the big IT recruiting agencies here in Toronto. This article wasn't directed at a mass business audience - it was directed at the internal staff recruiters inside larger companies. Good message here for those folks in terms of how to get the attention of top talent - and to keep their attention after you get it and then close the deal.
GO BLUE !!!
February 17th, 2016 at 12:52 PM ^
I'd love to see Harbaugh and Bacon do a lecture series on "Bo's Lasting Lessons".
Tons of great leadership lessons in that book that apply to football, business, and beyond.
February 17th, 2016 at 1:59 PM ^
I love how the author referred to SOTS as an "onboarding session". I think something's actually gained in the translation.
I know that quarantine is an opportunity to get valuable information. The sport continues to gain momentum and sporting events in colleges will continue. I recently read an article https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/life/ about a life position. This virus will help us become stronger and more pragmatic. Great educational and sporting events will be even more classy.
It seems to me that the main indicator of success is the stable growth of the client base and the increase in the number of regular customers. Analytics should come first, and you should be able to use it accurately. For example, the best bi solutions that will help you keep track of the data you need all the time.