Author: Don Yaeger
I’ve always been fascinated by the intense focus placed on new political administrations during their first 100 days in office. Pundits, fans and critics are certainly already drawing up their scorecards of President Donald Trump’s performance in that short time frame.
He had high hopes about what his administration could accomplish quickly. Every new president does. But he is learning that navigating politics...
Records Are Made To Be Broken: Lessons From UCONN Women’s Basketball
The world of sports abounds with magical records that no-one-believed-would-ever-be-broken. Consider New York Yankee Lou Gehrig’s grueling mark of 2,130 consecutive baseball games played, which stood tall for 56 years: Cal Ripken, Jr. smashed it by playing in 2,632. Or Hank Aaron’s 1976 career home run record of 755. Insurmountable! Until Barry Bonds passed it in 2007. Leonidas of Rhodes’ 2,168-year-old mark...
Four Ways To Make Your Team Meetings Matter
In business, as in sports, there is nothing more frustrating than a poorly executed meeting. Whether you are stuck in an office conference room listening to a droning, directionless boss or huddled up on the field with a queasy, indecisive quarterback, your confidence, productivity and competitive edge are bound to plummet.
A 3 Step Comeback For You And Super Bowl Losing Coach Dan Quinn
As the curtain closed on the most dramatic denouement in Super Bowl history last Sunday, offering us so many indelible images—a tearful Tom Brady hoisting his fifth Vince Lombardi trophy, a defiant Bill Belichick pumping his fist skyward—I sunk back into my couch feeling oddly contrarian.
Rather than celebrate the many riveting plot points in the New England Patriots’ record-setting 25-point comeback victory—Julian...
Apply The 60-Minute Rule To Avoid Getting Fired… Or Embarrassing Your Team
It took all of fifteen minutes for sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson to bring up Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown’s Facebook Live locker room fiasco during CBS’s nationally televised broadcast of the AFC Championship game. And while her broadcast booth cohorts quickly refocused viewer attention on the Tom Brady special unfolding on the field, the mention of Brown’s week-old off-field antics underscore...
What Saturday’s Belichick – O’Brien Showdown Taught Me About Winning
As Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien trudged across the field through a postgame swarm of players, coaches, photographers and security guards to congratulate Bill Belichick, who had just dealt him the most painful blow of his nascent head-coaching career—a soul-crushing 34-16 loss that jettisoned Houston from the playoffs, just two wins shy of a Super Bowl appearance—I couldn’t help but wonder two things.
First....
What Nick Saban Taught Me About Greatness And It’s Worst Nemesis: Complacency
As I sat in my living room watching the final seconds tick away—and the Clemson Tigers posted a dramatic come-from behind victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide to claim the NCAA Division 1 College football championship—I got to thinking about my favorite topic: Greatness.
I’ve studied Greatness for more than 25 years—interviewed the world’s top athletes (Michael Jordan, Walter Payton and John Smoltz) and most acclaimed...
A Lesson From Ronda Rousey: Don’t Let Your Job Define You
Not that long ago, UFC star Ronda Rousey was billed as “the world’s most dangerous woman” and with commercial endorsements and movie appearances seemed poised to make a major impact on pop culture. That was before two “setbacks” in the Octagon. While her star has dimmed considerably in those last two fights, Rousey’s story offers valuable insights and serves as a warning for those of us who get too wrapped...
A New Year’s Challenge: Share Your Dreams
In a couple of days some of us will make New Year’s Resolutions and some of us will share them with others as a way to hold ourselves accountable.
But have you ever been challenged to share your dreams? Earlier this year I spent a grueling week on the basketball court, learning about teamwork and dreams at “K Academy” which advertises itself as “America’s number one college basketball fantasy camp.”
Laugh all you...