General Tommy Franks Leadership Thoughts

The truly great ones leave a legacy of strong leaders whom have benefited from their example, their encouragement, and their mentoring. Great leaders develop other great leaders

During my months in combat, I’d come to understand that a soldier owes loyalty to his unit and to his boss. A leader must be able to count on the complete support of his subordinates. As Eric Antila climbed into that jeep and assumed full responsibility for my actions during the Battle of the Y Bridge, however, I realized that loyalty not only flows up the chain of command: It flows down as well.

“Soldiers have a lot of moving parts,” I began. “They require regular maintenance. They are human beings, not machines. They will do amazing things if they know you care about them.”

“What I’ve learned is that being in charge doesn’t automatically mean you know what’s going on. That’s going to change in this battery. “
“If a trooper comes to you with a problem, remember this: It’s your problem, and it’s my problem. We’re not going to lose good soldiers because we don’t give a rat’s ass about them as people.”

When Selective Listening Is Good

Learn from other people's experiences (OPE)

From Failure--learn from them. Take notes on them. Find out what poor people read, language they lose--and don't lose it.

From Success--pick up information from others. Observe during the day, pay attention. Get from the day vs Getting Through the day. Listen. Sort through the voices that don't count. Find a voice of value. Teach kids the skill of selective listening. Don't waste time on the shallow.

5 Choices To Extraordinary Productivity From Franklin Covey

1. Act on the important, don't react to the urgent.
2. Go for extraordinary, don't settle for the ordinary.
3. Schedule the big rocks, don't sort gravel.
4. Rule your technology, don't let technology rule you.
5. Fuel the fire, don't burn out.

Measure The Things That Are Important--Attitude

Rick Pitino's Daily Process For Measuring His Attitude
1. Before going to bed he circles the date in his planner
--Circles in Red--when he's done his best to make it a positive day
--Circles in Blue--when he's been too negative
--Circles in Pencil--when the day was neutral
Goal is having 98% positive days each month.

If you don't write things down, you can soon forget or minimize, while your mind still believes it's on task.

Any form of greatness needs personal accountability on a daily basis.

The Choice That Determines Influence

The Deep Choice That Determines Influence is this question:
Do I see people in front of me or do I see objects?

How you think and refer to someone will ultimately relate to how you receive and view someone.

Are we treating the needs of others as equal as our own? Or do we minimize them?

Thoughts taken from "Leadership and Self-Deception" Discussion Class

Body Language

An athlete should ask himself this question: "Do I want to be perceived as a focused and relentless competitor?" If so, he must know how to look the part before he can play it. A performer who gives off signals of vulnerability will not act out appropriate behavior.

That the athlete may be speaking through his body in any of these ways is an indication that he has been distracted and disturbed.

But consider this: if he's distracted from attention to task because of his frame of mind, then he is focused on his major concern or anxiety of the moment.

It's natural enough for people to want things to go their way. It is just as natural for them to be affected when they do not get what they want. The test of each individual is how he responds to such a circumstance. He can rise above his disappointment, or he can sink below it. An athlete's body language indicates whether he is in the process of elevating himself or burying himself.

The nature and degree of disappointment will vary, but the appearance of an athlete during competition should not vary, for consistent behavior leads to consistent performance.

--Taken from H.A. Dorfman. "Coaching The Mental Game"

Phil Jackson's 5 Management & Motivation Secrets

1. KNOW WHEN TO STEP BACK AND LET PEOPLE FIND THEIR OWN SOLUTIONS.
--As a leader, you must know when not to act.
--Allow them to resolve a crisis and affirm their common goals

2. PUSH PEOPLE TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES AND DEVELOP SELF-CONFIDENCE.
--There are no textbook answers in basketball or life.
--Every game is a riddle that must be solved.
--Michael Jordan calls it "Think Power"--the ability to work collectively and harmoniously under pressure. People must think on their feet and for themselves.

3. ACCEPT SETBACKS AS STEPPING-STONES TO GREATER SUCCESS
--Don't dance away from reality but make it your teacher.
--Losing is a lens through which you can see yourself more clearly and experience the transient nature of life--the fact that all things change, grow, decay and regenerate.

4. WHEN THE POTENTIAL REWARD IS GREAT, DON'T BE AFRAID TO TAKE LIMITED RISKS
--Let individuals be themselves. The bottom line is whether they work hard and produce for the team.

5. CULTIVATE AWARENESS AS THE KEY INGREDIENT TO SUCCESS
--Talent alone cannot guarantee victory.
--Groups function best when everyone is in tune with what is happening around them, when each member strives to fit into the flow.

Dick Bennett's Thoughts On Thankfulness

"Incredible wisdom when you can be thankful in all circumstances. Take something from every situation that presents itself."

Later doesn't always come...

Advice Shaq's mother gave him:
"There's no opportunity like now."

Shaq told his mom one time, "I can't do that right now. Maybe later." Then his mother said to him--"Later doesn't always come to everybody."

Work hard now. Don't wait. If you're lazy, or you sit back and don't want to excel, you'll get nothing. If you work hard enough, you'll be given what you deserve.

What Determines A Positive Attitude

Does it ever seem like forces are working against you with the sole purpose of making life difficult?

Your attitude has a lot to do with it. Your attitude shows in just about everything you do--how you carry yourself, the way you talk, the people you associate with, the decisions you make.

Most of the time people base how they feel on a certain situation. This is circumstance driven instead of Vision (philosophy driven).

The source of your attitude is your philosophy.

There is a ripple effect of philosophy, attitude and action can be positive or negative. We must develop a positive philosophy and attitude so that no matter what circumstances arise, we can make the best choice and take the best course of action.

--Thoughts taken from Success For Teens (featured in Success Magazine)

9 Simple But Successful Offensive Principles

1. Play within your capabilities--shot selection.
2. Think before you move and move with a purpose.
3. Play your defender on offense.
4. Read the defense.
5. Dribble to improve passing angle, balance floor, drive to basket or get out of trouble.
6. Pass away from the defense.
7. Set and Use screens properly.
8. Anticipate/ Rebound ALL shots.
9. Maintain proper spacing.

Influential Trust

The following notes were taken from Roy Reid's Outrageous Trust

Influential Trust
--You make a difference in the things you do. How:
1. Choose to be engaged in the problem.
2. Commit to the cause.
3. Confront all the issues
4. Seek the Competency to overcome the challenges.
5. Courage to finish

Thoughts on Passing The Basketball

General Ideas On Passing:
• Not very many good passers any more
• Everybody likes a good passer
• Good passing teams are happy teams
• Look to point and say thanks

Great passers can do these things:
• Pass with either hand
• Work on passing anytime they have a ball and a teammate
• Understand the people they pass to (right person, right place, right time)
• Zip their passes—with proper spacing you cannot throw a flick pass to hard
• Make the easy (simple) pass and pass away from the defense

Passing
1. Triple threat position
2. Use vertical fakes
3. Look off your pass
4. Step into the pass
5. Put your wrist in their forehead (flick pass)

Questions To Guide Individual Meetings

Listed below are some of the questions that we have used to guide our end of year meetings. We use these meetings as we start the next seaon's goal setting, reviewing the past season, and self examination for the players.

1. Overall feeling of the season
2. Most enjoyable part?
3. If you knew then, what you know now what would be different?
4. #1 piece of advice to Freshmen.
5. One thing we'll notice immediately when you return in the fall?

Skill Development--Isolate the skill, then Teach

A critical part to the game planning process is to identify the skills each player needs to perform the steps (tasks) involved in a particular play or sequence. After identifying the skills needed by the player, a team must a have a process in place for ensuring that their players develop these skills so that each play or player sequence is productive. Taking steps to develop these skills in every player occurs in two stages: Isolating the Skills & Teaching the Skills.


ISOLATE THE SKILLS
The first step in the process should be to analyze the tasks involved in the assignment of every player. Next, a decision must be made regarding whether the players have the ability to master the necessary skills. If it's determined that the ability of the players does not mesh with the skills required for a specific task. The Head Coach must either discard this part of his offensive plan or alter the play sequence to fit the level of talent.


Whatever the decision, the decision can be made easier if one strictly adheres to one of the cardinal principles of training--SPECIFICITY. This refers to the fact that "an individual gets what he trains for". All factors considered, the more specific his player's preparation, the better their performance.


TEACH THE SKILLS
Teaching players skills they need involves an evolutional process of promoting, enhancing, practicing and refining each facet of the capacity being developed. Rudimentary teaching progression of "hear it, see it, do it".

Pete Newell on Post Play Reps

Post players need to read and react. They need to feel comfortable doing things or they will not do them. Teach them to play the game. I believe you need to teach a player a few moves, and when they are proficient in one area, then move on. Rhythm is important. Footwork is important. Let them go 4 times in a row. This helps to teach them to set up moves, teaches them rhythm and will help them develop a fluid motion to their game.

Symbols to improve your note taking

I use the Cornell method of note taking by dividing my note sheet with a line 1/3 of the way from the left edge of the paper. I then take notes using the outer 2/3 of the paper.

On the left 1/3, I make note of actions using the above symbols that Michael Hyatt recommends. I also make note of ideas, thoughts, etc.

Philosophy for Entries & Plays

1. Reasons for plays:
a. Special plays for special players
b. Some plays fit certain players, find what fit plays fit yours
c. Move your personnel to make the plays fit your team.

2. Run plays into your motion or continuity

3. Run plays at the end of a possession, end of quarter, game

4. Run a play for your post player to start your motion ( the idea is to give your best player a chance to score every time down the floor.)

5. If you are going to run plays...try to use the same alignment.

6. For plays to work..you should have:
a. Vocal Call
b. Visual Call.

7. Realize you can't use every good idea. Adapt what you can.

HARD Goals

I recently listened to Pat Williams on his radio show interview Mark Murphy about his new book "HARD Goals". Murphy uses the acrostic HARD as the theme of his book.

H--eart Felt
You must be emotionally connected to your goals.
Whose goal is it? A clear sign that people will abandon a goal is fi they attribute the goals to someone else.

A--nimated
Visual sense.
The more clearly you can see a goal, the more likely you are to achieve it.
Jack Nicklaus said he saw every shot before he hit it.
Vision trumps the other senses.
Put a picture up of your goals.
See it in the mind's eye.
White wine tinted with red food coloring will often trick the mind into thinking it's drinking red wine.
Know what the goal looks like.
What will the goal look like at the end?

R--equired
Must start.
Imminent death of a goal is the phrase, "I'll start tomorrow"
Major predictor of not accomplishing a goal.
Cut the goal in half, then in half again, then the next 30 days, then 1 thing I can do today.....
One thing today to keep you on track to your goals.

D--ifficult
The more difficult the, more likely to achieve.
Most of us drive to work on autopilot. Our brain isn't lit up. If you drive through a blizzard or a storm the brain lights up. It's a different goal.
Performance is subpar when people can coast.
Working to our upper state of performance. Just outside the element where we are comfortable.

Most of us approach goals wrong. There is an 85% failure rate for New Year's Goals. Most of us treat it as a grocery list. Short shrift. The "process" of setting the goal is critical. Ask questions...Give the goal the attention it deserves.

CEO's are usually pretty good at setting goals for themselves..But often don't apply the same goal setting process to their employees.

Need more than SMART goals. Steve Jobs is not an "achieveable & realistic" thinker. He's a different kind of thinker.

3 Areas of Skill Development

WHAT TO DO TO GET BETTER?

1. BE A BETTER ATHLETE
a. Lift. Sell out in the weight room.
b. Improve quickness.

2. DEVELOP SKILLS
a. Play, Play, Play
b. Spend time in the gym to work on your game. Be accountable.
c. Compete with time, score, etc.

3. ATTITUDE
a. Gives you the edge.
b. Deserve (merit earned through hard work)
c. Take ownership of your game.
d. Do something extra that the opponent hasn’t done.


Fundamentals are the skills that command attention
On a consistent daily basis.
No detail of execution is too small to overlook.
The truly great players are masters of fundamentals.

Dependability

DEPENDABLE
Being a Team’s Go-To player
You know it when you have people on your team whom you cannot depend. Everyone on the team knows it. Likewise, you know the ones you can depend on.

The Essence of Dependability:
1. Pure Motives
2. Responsibility
3. Sound Thinking
4. Consistent Contribution

If you can’t depend on teammates all the time, then you can’t really depend on them any of the time. Consistency takes more than talent. It takes a depth of character that enables people to follow through—no matter how tired, distracted or overwhelmed they are.

“It’s not enough to do our best; sometimes we have to do what is required.”—Winston Churchill

Taken from John Maxwell's, "The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player"

Hubie Brown Daily Planning Sheet

Recently read where Hubie Brown divided a notebook sheet paper into thirds when planning his day.

Attitude Doesn't Come By Instinct

Attitude isn't something that comes by instinct. It has to be practiced over and over or relearned over and over. The more our players study and practice this fundamental, the more they beleive they can decide how they feel. They realize they have power over their attitude. Their coach doesn't have that power. Neither does the referee or their professor. How they approach their attitude is their choice.

The Competency of Teaching Ability

Chuck Daly said he was a salesman--and also a teacher. It's true. If you can't teach, you can't lead. A salesman persuades people to a certain course of action, a teacher persuades people to become a certain kind of person. Great teachers inspire and motivate people to become learners with a hunger and thirst for knowledge. Great teachers inspire people to seek wisdom, to grow in character, to find solutions, to pursue knowledge and to stretch their understanding.


What makes a Teacher/Coach special is the ability to transfer knowledge to you. They teach what they know.


The deepest learning doesn't take place in the classroom, but in the laboratory of life.

Taken from, "The Paradox of Power" by Pat Williams

"If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles"--Sun Tzu

Knowing yourself is a key to humility according Dick Bennett. He said that players need to know who they are. Not who they think they are. Not who they want to be. Not who others think they are. But who they really are.

Some players will yield who they are when adversity hits.
Do you accept who you are?

Two Things To Be Great

Coach Meyer spoke to our baseball team at UCF this past fall. One of the things he talked about were the "Two Things To Be Great":

1. Get Past Failure
a. Trevor Hoffman couldn't take the failure of an off night.

2. Get Past Success
a. For every hundred that can handle failure, but one can handle success.
b. Be Hungry--don't mess with people that have a hungry look

Two Great Books To Start Your Day

Daily routines are a key to consistency and success. I try to start my day with these two books. Coach Don Meyer encouraged me to start my day with these two to set your mindset.

Cornell Note Taking Page Example

I spoke this weekend at the STEPUP Assistant Coaches Symposium and as I spoke about Scouting & Owning Your Game Plan I discussed the value of taking notes. I shared my way of taking notes that I got from Coach Don Meyer.

It's called the Cornell system. You divide your notebook page with a line one-third of the way from the left edge. You then take the notes on the available two-thirds. You use the one-third area for action items, questions, ideas, etc.

It works well for review. When reviewing you can easily find what needs to be acted upon.

Lawrence Frank's Building Blocks For Success

Building Blocks For Success

1. How We Play
a. Smart, Hard, Together
b. Protect the Paint First
c. Force Contested 2's Second
d. Gang Rebound
e. Attack Mentality
f. Take Great Shots

2. Core Values
a. Trust & Integrity
b. Accountability
c. Respect
d. Commitment
e. Sacrifice
f. Perseverance

3. Our Culture
a. Strive for Excellence
b. Hardest Working
c. Most Unselfish
d. Winning Attitude
e. Be a Great Teammate

Make It A Great Day vs Have A Great Day

Make It A Great Day vs Have A Great Day

Making each day your masterpiece is one of Coach Wooden’s 7 principles that shaped his life. I’ve read the 7 point creed given to him by his father, hundreds of times. However, not until reading Pat Williams new book, “ Coach Wooden—The 7 Principles That Shaped His Life and Will Change Yours”, did I think about the terms “Make vs Have” a great day.
The quality of my day depends on me. It’s something I initiate. “Have a great day” is a passive statement. But “Make it a great day” means that I am in charge of making my day great.

A few ways Pat Williams suggests how we can take control of our day and turn our day into a masterpiece:

1. Set clear goals, then take measurable steps toward achievement.
2. Put an end to procrastination.
3. Beware of distractions and time wasters.
4. Make a time log
5. Focus on excellence