No Fear | Embrace Rivals | Getting An Edge | Decision Fatigue
Note: Next week the newsletter will appear under its new name, “Coaching Coaches,” and I will have an exciting announcement to share.
"Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don't wish it were easier; wish you were better." - Jim Rohn
Good morning, coaches!
Today we have articles on embracing fear and avoiding decision fatigue, podcasts with UVA coach Tony Bennett and the former Dunkin Donuts CEO on leadership, and how NBA teams are getting an edge.
If you have any feedback or content you think could be helpful for other coaches, feel free to reach out or leave a comment.
Here we go!
ARTICLES
The Important Thing Is to Not Be Afraid: Ryan Holiday shares with us that over the course of history, there have always been major obstacles or hurdles people faced, but the one thing we can’t do when facing them is be afraid. Fear is paralyzing and we have to prepare ourselves for those important moments so we respond appropriately.
Think about someone like John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, whose heart rate never went above 100 beats per minute the entire mission. That’s what preparation does for you.
Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue?: Decision fatigue is also referred to as ego depletion, and occurs when you’ve made decisions throughout the day and your mind is overtired and doesn’t make good decisions afterwards because we all have a finite amount of mental energy to exert self-control. It shows us that willpower is a muscle that is fatigued with use. Some people purposefully design their lives to limit decisions, like Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs, who choose to wear the same outfit everyday.
“Good decision making is not a trait of the person, in the sense that it’s always there,” Baumeister says. “It’s a state that fluctuates.” His studies show that people with the best self-control are the ones who structure their lives so as to conserve willpower. They don’t schedule endless back-to-back meetings. They avoid temptations like all-you-can-eat buffets, and they establish habits that eliminate the mental effort of making choices. Instead of deciding every morning whether or not to force themselves to exercise, they set up regular appointments to work out with a friend. Instead of counting on willpower to remain robust all day, they conserve it so that it’s available for emergencies and important decisions.
PODCASTS
Note: if you want to listen to one of these podcasts, click the link at the end of the description to play it on the app of your choice. You may need to scroll back within your app to the date the episode released. If you are listening on a computer, I suggest using Overcast.
Work Life with Adam Grant: Become Friends with Your Rivals. Grant begins the episode citing a study that found the better a team’s rival does in the NCAA tournament, the more games the team wins the next year (it was replicated with the NBA, MLB, NFL & NHL). The episode explains how you can use the power of a rival to improve your own performance, and surprisingly (to me), if you build a supportive relationship with a rival, it can elevate your performance even more. Grant had an op-ed in the NY Times on the same topic if this interests you. [March 12, 2019–39 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Overcast | Stitcher | Website Link
Supportive rivalries are more likely to emerge when there is a clear hierarchy between rivals. More accomplished people are less likely to be threatened by junior competitors, who in turn often look up to their senior rivals as role models.
The Pomp Podcast: #388: Robert Rosenberg on Lessons Leader Running Dunkin Donuts. Rosenberg served as the CEO of Dunkin Donuts for 35 years and took a company with 100 shops and $10 million in sales when he first became CEO, to 6,500 outlets including Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Shops and nearly $2.5 billion in sales the year he retired. He offers lessons on hiring, learning as a leader and taking accountability for mistakes, applying leadership lessons from his time spent in the military, and how he thought about long-term strategy. [September 21, 2020–45 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Overcast | Google | Breaker | Website Link
A franchisee is in business by himself, but not for himself.
MISCELLANEOUS
Will You Choose Alive Time or Dead Time?
“In 1946 he (Malcolm Little) was arrested for trying to fence an expensive watch he’d stolen. In his apartment, police found jewelry, furs, an arsenal of guns, and all his burglary tools. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He could have served his time simply counting the days. He could have planned his next crime spree. Instead, he started reading. He literally copied the dictionary word for word. Every minute he wasn’t in his bunk, he was in the library. That was how Malcolm Little was transformed into Malcolm X.
Why did Malcolm X wear glasses? Because he literally wore his eyes out reading in prison.”
David Thorpe on NBA Franchises Getting An Edge (via TrueHoop):
If history is any indicator, the better move is to find players who don’t fit the mold—but, with careful long-term development—can play. Right now there are hundreds of guys who the NBA sees as too flawed to draft in the first round. But many of them will address those flaws and end up starting for a playoff team sooner or later. The organization that uncovers those guys, and the franchise that unlocks that potential, will have a giant edge.
“Billy Donovan and Chris Paul, the face of the Thunder franchise, took a model approach with Dort. They didn’t just focus on what Dort could do for the team—they also focused on what they could do for Dort. All over the league in these playoffs, teams are refusing to guard non-shooters. It makes defense far easier to play five on four. Dort is one of many players who might hurt his team by not commanding attention. Going into Game 7 against the Rockets, Dort had made just 7 of 38 3s. Then he missed his first 3, following a turnover and a blocked dunk. Had Donovan pulled him from the game at that point, nobody would have questioned him. But, instead, Donovan kept him in the game, and Paul kept passing him the ball. The Thunder lost the game, but Dort outscored James Harden in a critical playoff game, and set a record by being an undrafted player who scored 30 points in a playoff game. Paul said they had been telling Dort they wanted him to keep shooting “‘til the wheels fall off.” After the series ended, Paul announced: “Dort is going to be in this league for a long time.”
This is what we call royal jelly, the equivalent of a dad telling his son how proud he is of the man he has become. It hits young players in their core. The Thunder are making Dort a better player by inspiring him. He knows they believe in him, that faith is a precious commodity in the NBA.
Remember, all 30 teams passed on Dort twice on draft night.”