The college football season kicks off with two games on Thursday, August 30th. Recently an ESPNU panel of experts ranked their preseason Top 25 teams. I love analyzing great sports teams because they offer multiple transferable concepts to church, business, and non-profit leaders. The following are the ESPNU’s Top 10 preseason teams in descending order with lessons all leaders can learn from. After an […]
Tag Archives | college football
8 Things Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban Does To Build Great Teams
Brian Dodd on October 20, 2011 in Great Teams, Sports Leadership
Are you constantly trying to discover the secrets to great teambuilding? Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban has built what some feel could be the greatest defensive unit in the history of college football. In the October 10th edition of Sports Illustrated, Lars Anderson takes a look at what makes this unit so special […]
What Leaders Cannot Be Confused About
Brian Dodd on August 21, 2011 in Sports Leadership
For several years I had the privilege of working for one of my spiritual heroes John Maxwell. In his classic book The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership, John talks about the The Law of Priorities which teaches that leaders never confuse activity with accomplishment. Leaders can never be confused about this. Leaders are about taking […]
If It Bleeds It Leads
Brian Dodd on August 20, 2011 in Character, Church Leadership, Family, Great Teams, Sports Leadership
“If it bleeds it leads” is an old news axiom. We are culture obsessed with negativity. Living in the Atlanta area with its horrific traffic, I have learned that we can’t help ourselves but to stop and stare at car accidents. The fundamental responsibility of leadership is to properly evaluate reality but I am sick of […]
5 Leadership Lessons From The Southeastern Football Conference
Brian Dodd on August 11, 2011 in Sports Leadership
I just went to my mailbox and discovered my Sporting News pre-season college football edition. This up-and-down day has a chance to end very well! In the world of college football, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) is the unquestioned top organization winning the last 5 national championships. Matt Hayes writes a nice piece on why the SEC […]
What It Takes For Leaders To Impress Other Leaders
Brian Dodd on June 26, 2011 in Great Teams, Sports Leadership
Everyone wants the respect of their peers.  We desire to have our efforts admired and appreciated. In addition, the best leaders want to lead and influence other leaders. Great leaders know that influencing leaders allows you to multiply influence and make a difference exponentially. But how do you accomplish that? 40 Division I college football coaches were recently surveyed in […]
6 Quotes About An Undefeated Leader, Alabama QB Greg McElroy
Brian Dodd on October 2, 2010 in Character, Great Teams, Performance, Sports Leadership
ESPN’s College Gameday just did a feature on Alabama Crimson Tide QB Greg McElroy. As many of you know, McElroy has not lost a game since the 8th grade when his team lost 8-6 to Cross Timbers Middle School. The following are some great leadership quotes I wanted to pass along to . “In trying […]
3 Simple Leadership Lessons From Frank Beamer
Brian Dodd on September 6, 2010 in Character, Family, Generosity, Great Teams, Sports Leadership
Genius is making the complicated simple, not the simple complicated. Whether it is pride, insecurity, or our natural default mode as leaders, we tend to over-analyze things in our lives. The result becomes relationships and tasks that are needlessly complicated. As a ministry consultant, I spend much time talking leaders through a process that takes complex ideas and […]
If I Had A Son – Leadership Lessons From Texas Tech’s Tommy Tuberville
Brian Dodd on September 3, 2010 in Character, Family, Increasing Capacity, Performance, Sports Leadership
If I had a son I often think about where I would want him to play college football. Of course, he would be a Division I prospect. Ultimately though, it would be his decision but here are three places I would steer him towards: Mark Richt and the University of Georgia Bulldogs Jim Tressel and the Ohio State […]
A Leader’s Diversion – College Football Preview
Brian Dodd on September 2, 2010 in Great Teams, Sports Leadership
Every leader needs a diversion, a healthy distraction. This allows them to get away and be placed in a replenishing, non-performance environment.  The diversion provides perspective. I’ll give you a peek into my life. One of my distractions is college football. With the season beginning Thursday evening, the following are my predictions as well as my leadership thoughts […]
Leaders, It’s Time To Take Out The Trash
Brian Dodd on August 30, 2010 in Family, Generosity, Increasing Capacity, Momentum, Relationships
Does your life feel like the picture above? I am currently reading Bruce Feldman’s book Meat Market which is generally considered the greatest book ever written on the subject of college football recruiting. By the way, it is living up to its reputation. I was fascinated by then Ole Miss Rebels Head Coach Ed Orgeron’s evaluation […]
5 Leadership Lessons From Christian Ponder
Brian Dodd on August 27, 2010 in Character, Great Teams, NFL Draft, Sports Leadership
The Florida State Seminoles QB Christian Ponder is the 2nd ranked player at his position in this year’s NFL Draft class. Ponder, a 5th year Senior, is a unique individual. In the August 23rd edition of the USA Today, Ponder’s leadership skills were analyzed. There are several things that leaders can learn from this Heisman candidate. […]