The following are 5 things you need to know to achieving superior results:
3 Differences between Winning and Losing Teams
On July 30th, the Cleveland Guardians traded for San Francisco Giants pitcher Alex Cobb. Cobb’s thoughts on joining a first-place squad are interesting and teach us a lot about leadership.
He said in this article from The Athletic, “I haven’t been part of a team with the amount of energy these guys bring every single night. I know that might not sound like much to a lot of fans and people that tune in. But you get into August and September, it’s tough to continue to have that same energy you start off the season with. Obviously, winning creates a little bit of added energy.”
Cobb concluded, “Think about 10 years of not winning. It wears on you. Other places I’ve been, August and September has been like, when are we going to lose enough games to where the organization gives up? It’s a toxic mindset to have.”
There are several things we learn about the differences between winning teams and losing teams from Cobb’s comments:
- Winning teams have high energy. Losing teams have low energy.
- Winning teams have healthy environments. Losing teams have unhealthy environments.
- Winning teams look forward to the next game. Losing teams look forward to the next season.
To Accomplish More, Do Less
Currently, the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is the first player in baseball history to have 45 home runs and 45 steals in the same season. He is on pace to soon be the inaugural member of the 50/50 club.
Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough said in this article from The Athletic, “With (Ohtani), I don’t know if you can be surprised. Like anything else he does, he puts his mind on something, he’s in and picks up things during the game. We’re watching video before and he’s helped me a ton. We’re breaking things down and I’ll get fixated on something and then he’s like, look at this or that.” He adds, “I think he’s always been a student of these things. I think now with having less on his plate from a preparation standpoint and the pitching, more focus can be put on it.”
By not having pitching responsibilities, Ohtani has been freed up to work on are the details of base running, specifically acceleration on his jumps. He is accomplishing more by doing less.
Manager Dave Roberts said, “He’s trying to dominate on every margin. That’s what makes him great.”
We learn from Ohtani that if you want to be great, do the following:
- Be a student of your craft.
- Increase your focus by removing distractions.
- Look for marginal gains.
2 Things Needed To Maximize Your Potential
Jeremiah Smith was top high school player in the nation last year and has wasted no time making an impact as an Ohio State freshman wide receiver. We learn the reason why in this article from The Athletic.
Head Coach Ryan Day said, “He’s built different. You can see the size and speed, but typically somebody with that talent doesn’t have the discipline and focus that he does.”
From Coach Day’s comments, we learn two things you need to maximize your potential:
- Discipline. This speaks to Smith’s work ethic.
- Focus. This speaks to his ability to edit his life.
Alignment and Attunement
After the Kansas City Chiefs 27-20 opening night over the Baltimore Ravens, quarterback Patrick Mahomes said in this article from The Athletic, “Everybody accepts everybody in this offense. They learn so much from (Travis Kelce) and they pick his brain and listen to him talking to me, and we build all throughout the year.”
The statement which sticks out to me is “Everybody accepts everybody in this offense.” You can tell the Chiefs are aligned and attuned.
- Alignment is when everyone is on the same page about what you want to accomplish. For instance, the Chiefs want to win Super Bowl.
- Attuned means everyone is on the same page about how to accomplish that goal.
You can be aligned but not attuned. Alignment – Attunement = Silos and Personal Agendas
Is your organization aligned and attuned?
The Standard
Steph Curry has an incredible resume:
- 4-time NBA Champion
- 2-time Most Valuable Player
- 2022 NBA Finals MVP
- 2-time scoring champion
- 9-time All-Star game selection
- And you can now add Olympic Gold Medalist
So what is there left to do after you have accomplished all of this. Curry told The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson II, “It’s still about winning and taking the steps necessary to give ourselves a chance. The standard hasn’t changed. The expectation hasn’t changed.”
The standard is the standard. Results do not change the standard, they merely reinforce it.
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