Leadership Lessons from Sports, Part II: Direction and Discipline

We explained that as business owners, we were always coaching our team. Striving to meet all those goals they felt were once out of sight. Getting better and stretching ourselves each day to do a little more, learn a little more and get just a little bit better.

Recently, I was reading “The 7 Crucibles” by Miami Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold. As Ingold was discussing goal-setting in football, one of his points really struck a business-leadership chord.

“Standards are the controllable performance levels you hold yourself accountable to in whatever goal you’re pursuing … For example, as a football player, you set a goal of wanting to get stronger, and to do that, you know you must hit the weights hard five days a week to get to the next level. That’s something you can control and commit to. You can measure your improvement by keeping track of how much extra you lift or how many additional reps you do from one month to the next.”

As Ingold explains it, a “standard” is what most of us in manufacturing would call a “key performance indicator.” A KPI is something that we commit to and measure.

But here is where the rubber met the road for me:

“Discipline is the X-factor that allows you to meet your standard on the toughest days. Discipline is about the consistency of how you show up, regardless of the circumstances.”

Personally, how many times do we set a goal on New Years Day, only to fall short by March? We say we will work out five days a week. Then, life gets messy and hard. We make excuses … we don’t have the discipline to see our standard through and execute upon it.

To be honest, I had never really considered how discipline played a part in goal-setting and, more importantly, attainment in the business world. Yet, discipline seems so obvious in the sports and personal health industries.

I was so shocked by this revelation. I immediately took a photo of the book pages and texted it to Patrick Laskey, who succeeded me as president of Erie, Pennsylvania, manufacturing company Onex Inc.

Patrick has been playing hockey since he was a young boy. And, over the last few weeks, we have been brainstorming creative ways to set goals and hold personnel accountable in the new year.

As a mentor, I encouraged Patrick to draw on his love of sports to help the team draw parallels between business and sports. How can they think differently about setting standards, having the discipline to meet the standards, holding the team accountable and working together as a team?

As I have said many times, there is a lot of value in getting outside of your industry to spark new ways of thinking. Who would have guessed football would have so many parallels with operating a manufacturing business? And, for parents, raising the next generation of leaders.