Standards, Character, and Competence - MVB and Film

All opinions expressed in the blog are my own. The blog is not an official publication of any City of Melrose organization.

You inform your career arc. In retrospect, every method is obvious. 

Art imitates life. There’s a reason certain films stay with you. They’re not about explosions or plot twists. They’re about people doing their job under pressure.

Different settings reveal the same truths. On a submarine, in a courtroom, in the  dugout, or on the court. 

Build the System First

In Apollo 13, the mission goes wrong. What saves the crew isn’t luck. It’s a system built before the crisis:

• checklists
• communication
• trust

No one improvises chaos. We fall to the level of our training. That’s team sports.

Character Reveals Itself Under Stress

In Bridge of Spies, Tom Hanks plays a lawyer who refuses to bend. He does hard better, because it’s right.

There’s a line in coaching:

“Character is what you do when no one is watching.”

Maybe this is better:

Character is what you do when everyone is watching and it would be easier not to. Sport reveals character. 

Competence Earns Trust

In Moneyball, the edge isn’t effort.

It’s clarity.

• What matters
• What doesn’t
• What wins

Billy Beane's assistant Peter Brand says that teams are "buying wins." More precisely, they're "buying runs." 

Competence defines repeatable performance. Players who weren't the most famous, the most desired, or the best paid achieved stunning success. 

Teammates trust players who:

• are where they’re supposed to be
• do what they’re supposed to do
• over and over again

"Repetition makes reputations."

Leadership Is Decision-Making

Every option carries risk. There is no perfect answer because there ar better and worse decisions. Coach Scott Celli can’t wait for certainty. He projects and makes the best decision available under the current conditions.

On a court, that player action looks like:

• taking the right swing
• making the right read
• living with the result

Indecision is friction.

Standards Are the System

In Crimson Tide, the conflict is simple:

What is the standard? Who decides? Good teams don’t argue about effort. They don’t negotiate toughness. The standard is set.

• How we communicate
• How we prepare
• How we respond

Sean McDermott challenged his Buffalo Bills, "That’s what it gets back to in terms of earning the right to win. How we meet, how we talk, how we work out, how we practice when we do practice, how we play – that’s the standard we’re trying to get to every day.”

The Connection

Great films and great teams share the same foundation:

• Character says, "do the right thing."
• Competence allows us to execute the thing right.
• Standards permit us to do it the same way more often.

For Players

Ask yourself:

• Can your teammates trust you? Team first...
• Do you know your job? Attention to detail...
• Do you do it the same way every day? Consistency...

Bottom Line

Build your system on:

• character
• competence
• standards

Lagniappe

"As the twig is bent so grows the tree." The best teams don’t look surprised when things go well. They look prepared. Because execution follows preparation.

Watch the 2011 team against a D1 powerhouse...execution at a high level. Efficiency doesn't have to be spectacular.