Quick take on the Campbell hire for ISU Football

Quick Matt Campbell thoughts...

 

People, process, players, culture, leadership, trust and choices.  These words came up over and over again during the press conference.  Good leadership is repeating your message over and over again.  Matt Campbell showed a wisdom far beyond his years in his opening press conference.  He seems to understand providing the leadership for others to grow and flourish is critical to creating a winning culture.

I spoke this weekend with friends in the industry who know Matt and people he has worked with.  His character and big picture leadership jump to the front of the conversation every time.  Campbell was mentored by Larry Kehres.  One of the all-time great coaches and human beings to ever toot a whistle.

So many coaches think system first, instead of personnel first.  I loved this quote.  "Players, formations, plays."  it seems so simple , but so many coaches get this backwards.  So many focus on the system first with little regard for the players talents.  In short, he will not try to put a square peg in a round hole.

My take...  I am excited for Matt to continue to build on the foundation the Cyclone staff built over the last 7 years.  Really excited that he chose to come to Ames and wanted this challenge!

Want to take your business or organization to the next level? Be a real Bearcat!

Want to take your business or organization to the next level?  Be a real Bearcat!

4 National titles, 13 trips to the quarterfinals, 18 playoff appearances...that’s a rich football history that would make any fan base proud.  At Northwest Missouri State University those are the totals since 1996.  The 2015 Bearcats ran the table, earned a first round bye, and bring the nation’s best defense into Saturday’s 1 pm game v. Humboldt State (see you there!)

For two decades Northwest Football has oozed excellence. Opponents have revamped their stadiums, added indoor facilities, built bigger weight rooms and got more aggressive in recruiting.  Yet the Bearcat beat plays on. 

Why is Northwest able to sustain excellence?  What is the root cause?  How did the dynasty start?  How is it possible to consistently give the rest of the conference the proverbial stiff arm?

Let’s rewind...

Following the 1993 season Dr. Jim Redd hired Mel Tjeerdsma as Head Football Coach. (pronounced Church ma for any new Bearcat fans) Tjeerdsma brought discipline.  Mel cut no corners and focused on long term success.  Every player (regardless of talent) with a questionable work ethic or character was given a bus ticket and an apple.  So long, sayonara, hit the road Jack! The plan worked perfectly...a perfect 0-11 1994 season.

In 1995, I joined the Northwest staff as a Graduate Assistant coaching the wide receivers.  A just-finished- playing, wet-behind-the ears, know-nothing kid, I got a lucky break.  I was smart enough to know I was joining a group of great coaches and too stupid to know that I was in way over my head.   I was a kindergarten student in a doctoral program and it was two of the best years of my life.

In 1995, we took our 6 wins into "the jungle" at Pitt State for the final game of the regular season.  At the time, this was the Division 2 equivalent of going on the road to play Alabama.  Maybe the Gorillas were looking forward to the playoffs and we didn't get their best effort that day, maybe we got a few lucky bounces, whatever the reason we finished close that day.  I know "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades", but close mattered that day. I distinctly remember TE Matt Becker standing by the bus after the game saying "We can beat these guys".  I remember WR Mark Serve' saying "that's it? That's Pitt Sate? I thought they would be better, it's on!"  The Gorillas would have been better off if they had beaten us like we stole their lunch money.  Instead, they allowed a belief to be born that day.  In my opinion, that's the day the Northwest Dynasty launched.  In 1996, we won 11 games. We lost to eventual-champion Northern Colorado in a second-round playoff game at UNC.  We gave the Bears all they wanted and more. The belief grew.  We were closer than we might have imagined.  Gas was thrown on a smoldering Bearcat fire.

Now to my point...

 Belief is important, but that is not the moral of this story.  What began in 1995 in "the jungle" was much more than a belief.  It was a player-driven culture and that is the moral of this story.  This group was on a mission and the players were leading the charge.  They began to enforce the culture from within the "enlisted ranks".  The privates and the sergeants were holding each other accountable for enforcing the culture established by the General and his officers.  There was a "Bearcat Way" of doing things and the players began to take the lead enforcing the rules.

In business, any plan, technology, invention, service or product can eventually be replicated.  This is even more evident in football where your "system" is on film and all your opponents have copies of every game. The only thing you can't "steal" from someone else is culture.  Culture is how Northwest has prospered all these years.  Through the loss of multiple "best ever" senior classes, through the loss of NFL caliber players, through the retirement of the guy with his name on the field and even through the sudden death of an inspirational and much-loved coach... the culture remains.  The impact of those who came before is not lost because the culture and the lessons are passed on through the coaches and players. 

The "Bearcat Way" has been passed on from player to player and coach to coach. Every current full-paid member of the staff played and/or served as a graduate assistant at Northwest.  Who helped me survive when I got to Northwest?  Rich Wright kept my head above water while I transitioned from player to coach.   Rich now serves as the Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator.  Rich is the only current coach who was on the staff of the 1995 team.  Guess who was the right guard for that 1995 team?  He went by A.D. then (He goes by Coach Dorrel now) and he is the two-time MIAA coach of the Year and the Bearcats head man. 

Let’s Fast Forward...

Recently, my 12 year old son and I had a behind the scenes look at the Bearcat culture first-hand.  On the early morning drive from Ames my son was inundated with hours of Bearcat stories. He now knows the history of the program from 1994. He listened to me tell anecdotal stories that showed the true brilliance of Mel's leadership style.  He listened as I explained why Scott Bostwick meant so much to me and to so many others.  I explained how Bosty had a true passion for helping others reach their potential.  He knows the story of the red hat and what it has come to symbolize for so many.  He knows the career coaching story of my best friend, Rich Wright, and how he carried me when I was the no-nothing Graduate Assistant I mentioned earlier.  My son got to see Rich in action up close as he directed the nation’s best TEAM defense.  He sat in Charlie Flohr's office while Charlie explained how the Bearcat coaches genuinely enjoy being around each other.  Our sideline passes allowed us a front row seat as I pointed out the way the players coached each other on the sideline.  Don't misunderstand my point.  The players hung on every word the coaches had to say and soaked it all in, but when the coaches left the sideline huddle the coaching continued.  The players traded information, talked about what they saw from the opponent, reinforced adjustments, motivated and CHALLENGED each other.  My son got it.  He is now a big-time Bearcat fan.  Even a 12 year old can feel a winning culture.

For both of us, the day was a lesson in leadership.  It was exactly what you would hope to see from any high-performing team. 

 

What can you learn from Bearcat Football?

Today the Bearcats consciously recruit to their culture.  They hand pick players that will fit the culture.  Not necessarily the most talented players, (talent is a big part of the equation) but the most talented players who fit the culture.  Even with that effort in advance, some players do not fit the culture and choose to move on.  Eventually, if a player refuses to embrace the culture the Bearcats may have to part ways.  Culture is larger than any one player.  Culture is more important than talent.  Culture reigns supreme. 

The Bearcats invest heavily in relationships.  They invest in player development on and off the field with more than lip service.  Each generation trains the next in the Bearcat culture.  If you still don’t get it you may be thinking, “Are the inmates running the asylum?”  Make no mistake there is no leadership vacuum from the top.  In fact, it is exactly the opposite.  This is what true leadership looks like.  This is what every organization should aspire to become.  This is what a team-driven culture looks like. 

If you are looking to take your business or organization to the next level, consider building a culture that helps your employees get what they want.  Consider truly investing in developing each individual team member.  Invest in relationships, recruit to your culture and be willing to sacrifice talented individuals who do not fit the culture.  Create your own team-driven culture that will stand the test of time.  Be a real Bearcat!

 

What Should Iowa State be looking for in it's next Head Football Coach?

* Quick update 11-30-15 at 12:53 p.m.

Quick Matt Campbell thoughts...

 

People, process, players, culture, leadership, trust and choices.  These words came up over and over again during the press conference. 

 

I spoke this weekend with friends in the industry who know Matt and people he has worked with.  His character and big picture leadership jump to the front of the conversation every time.

 

So many coaches think system first.  I loved his quote.  "Players, formations, plays."  it seems so simple , but so many coaches get this backwards.  So many focus on the system first with little regard for the players talents first.

 

My take...  I am excited for Matt to continue to build on the foundation the Cyclone staff built over the last 7 years.  Really excited that he choose to come to Ames!

Editor's note, Tuesday November 24th

The point of this article is not to advocate for a specific coach or style of play at Iowa State.  The plan outlined below for ISU is one example of how the puzzle pieces must all fit together.  The point is to help educate fans, media and even some administrators.  A comprehensive leadership plan that fits the unique challenges of the individual program should be the most important requirement.  The best fit for many jobs may not be on the experts "hot list".  The pressure to win the press conference and the bidding war is palpable. Talented leaders exist at every level of college football.  They key is being able to sift through all the noise to find true leadership. 

Personal note:  A big shout out to all the fantastic humans I had the pleasure of serving with at ISU.  From Paul to Carl and everyone in between... Thank you! 

The College Football Coaching Carousel continues at Iowa State

The college football coaching carousel has started sooner than ever and it is already a huge year for turnover.  Today the college football changes hit close to home. 

Paul Rhoads and his current staff will leave ISU Football better off than Rhoads’ first staff found it.

It seems impossible, but with Rhoads departure every member of the staff that scrambled to put together a not-so-shabby recruiting class in early 2009 will be gone.  Rhoads is the last of the original group that recruited that first class.  Such is life in college football. 

When coaches are let go in college football many fans and administrators are like teenagers driving on gravel.  They start to fishtail a bit and then they over-correct.  Watch and see as this scenario plays out all over the country in the weeks and months to come.  Programs will trade a “player’s coach” for a “tough-minded disciplinarian”, an old “old guy” for an “up and Comer”, a “defensive guy” for an “offensive guru” and on and on. 

What they should be looking for is a leader.  Someone able to survey the conditions on the ground and develop, communicate and lead a comprehensive plan.  Fans and media will rush to throw out names.  Many of these coaches will have little experience doing more with less.  Many will be experts in one area or another, but may not have a comprehensive plan to lead the overall organization.  The minutia and details of offensive/defensive preparation of a unit are but one skill needed to succeed as the head man.  Many of the skills needed to be a great coordinator are not what is needed to be the CEO.  Yet, that’s where far too many coaching searches begin and end.

So what comes next for the Cyclones?  How can anyone have prolonged success in Ames Iowa? 

Below is an example of an over-simplified plan for what that success might look like.  There are many different ways to achieve success.  I am not saying this plan is the only one that may work.  This is only one example of the type of solutions fans should be considering as they throw out names.  The best fit may not be a name you have heard.  It may well be someone with a history of developing a plan for over-achieving. 

Six steps to consider for success at Iowa State...

 

 

1.       Embrace Strengths

2.       Be Different

3.       Recruit I-35

4.       Go Big

5.       Slow Down

6.       Macro Leadership

 

Embrace Strengths: Focus only on what you have.  The fan base is supportive, hungry and growing just like the University.   Players are the big fish in a state with no pro football competition.  Football participation, a clean record and a degree are a jump-start to opportunities galore for the rest of your life.  Smart players intent on a degree and life after football find ISU a great choice.  You are in the Big 12.  Celebrate and embrace that level of competition and use that to your advantage in recruiting.

Recruit I-35:  Embracing strengths starts with recruiting the extended I-35 corridor (2-3 states wide) from North to South.  Focus on upper- Midwest over achievers and Big-12 footprint chip-on-their-shoulder-kids.  Invest heavily in player personnel staff and evaluation.  Use personnel staff and interns to cut up game films and move away from using highlight films to offer anyone.  Slow down offers and let the senior year development occur before rushing to offer all but the absolute best kids.  Be willing to stand by your evaluations and be willing to “steal” kids from non-BCS schools commit lists if they fit your system.  Move recruiting areas away from airports where everyone goes to see multiple players in one day and turn over rocks in out-lying areas.  Recruit players that are not being recruited by every other big-12 school. (ISU wins very few of these battles) Create a system that demands a different type of player than most of the Big-12. 

Immediately throw gas on the walk-on recruiting strategy fire.  Start with a “top twenty” highly-recruited walk-ons who will compete to earn a minimum of two scholarships per class awarded at the completion of the red-shirt sophomore season.  This would allow you to attract many of the players that go to NDSU and UNI and develop into fantastic players.  It is very difficult to know which players will develop.  This allows you to “hedge your bets” and turn a weakness (late developing multi-sport athletes exposed to lower-level competition) into a new strength.  Over recruit the Defensive line position to make sure you do not become depleted up front (impossible to move guys from other positions) and get your linebackers and secondary beat up as a result.  Defensive Linemen who can’t play defense often make great run blocking O-linemen.

 

Go Big:  Embracing strengths and recruiting I-35 allows you to “Go Big”.  The geographic recruiting area and philosophy outlined above allows you to add size and run the ball.  Utilize large running QB’s to gain an extra blocker and be a threat in play action and boot schemes.  Big, physical offensive linemen, Fullbacks, tight ends and receivers will help in the red zone and help to shorten the length of the game.  (a true triple-option scheme would also be a way to achieve this)  Having an offensive scheme that is different than most (or all) of the Big-12 allows you access to players others don’t want that can help you win. 

 

Be Different:  Embracing strength, recruiting I-35 and Going Big allows you to become different than the rest of the Big 12.  You just can’t do the same things everyone else does in the Big 12 and plan to outwork/out smart/out recruit others at the same game they are playing.  Embrace the culture of being a little different in most aspects of the program.   Science and Mathematics tells us more coaches should go for it on 4^th down in short yardage situations and in positive territory.  Come in with that mentality from day one and let the players know it early on.  Let going for it more often on 4^th down become part of your culture.  The offensive system would be built to succeed in short yardage situations. 

The Big 12 has become a “possession league” more than a “field position league”.  Might as well push the chips to the middle of the table and dare to be different in all you do. The explosive offenses can score from anywhere any time.  The best way to defeat them is limit possessions and time on the field.

 

Slow Down:  The steps above will allow you to slow the game down and decrease the amount of snaps per game.  Staying on the field longer on offense will keep the ball away from opponent’s explosive offenses; allow the defense fewer snaps per game, more rest in between possession and increase health over 12 plus games.  The recruiting scheme laid out above admittedly will not have an abundance of Big-12 ready players the day they walk on campus.  Players will need time to develop.  Florida and California players may be game ready earlier in their career, but the upper Mid-west players will not.  However, they may be better fits and have larger upsides.  Slowing the game down and milking the clock keeps players healthier and allows you to shorten the game.  It is easier to defeat a more talented opponent over a shorter sample size of plays. 

Macro Leadership: Being a little different requires Macro Leadership.  Allow key people from each department (Coordinators, Strength, Personnel, Operations, Medical, Academic and Captains) to have expansive leadership roles.  The leader must create the vision and communicate the master plan.  Hold the leaders in each department accountable for living and delivering the vision.  Make sure everyone understands exactly what is expected and that all are rowing in the exact same direction in perfect rhythm.  Resist the urge to run any one of these departments no matter your experience or expertise.  Use any extra time to recruit and develop individual relationships with players, coaches and staff. 

 

Ultimately, the leader must do the things only the leader can do.  The leader must continually communicate the vision until everyone can see it as if it where their own.  That is the leadership the Cyclones and others should be looking to hire to give themselves the best shot to get off the college football coaching carousel.

 

 

Where should the Hawkeyes be ranked in the College Football Playoffs?

 

What can business leaders take away from Iowa's College Football Playoff ranking?

 

The Hawkeyes undefeated start has made for good debate both here in Iowa and across the nation.  Iowa may be the most polarizing team in college football.

Iowa fans can make an intelligent argument for their beloved Hawkeyes to be in the top four.  Other experts across the country don't believe Iowa is one of the best three teams in their own conference.

 

The Hawkeyes are a divisive issue.  How can there be so much difference of opinion over the Hawkeyes rightful place in the College Football Stratosphere?

 

The same thing happens in business every day.  People who work together every day often see opportunities and challenges within a business very differently.  As the leader you must:

 

1.  Expect and encourage differences of opinion.  Embrace the fact that  two or more rational intelligent humans view the same circumstances and come away with completely different points of view. 

2. Always remember the lens through which each Individual views the world is shaped and molded by their collective experiences.  As the leader you need to understand the unique  lens that your team members use to view problems and opportunities. 

3. View differences of opinion between team members (and how you reach the final decision) as tremendous opportunities to exhibit leadership.  Managers make and enforce policy decisions.  A leader brings the parties involved closer together before making the decision.  How the team members feel about each other after the decision is often more important than making the "right" decision.

 

True Leadership is so much more than being the referee.  As we see every Saturday, anyone can officiate(apologies to my friends in stripes, but I could not resist).  Leaders are able to get team members to "try on each others glasses" even if it is just long enough to see things suddenly look a little fuzzy. That is leadership.

 

What can business leaders learn from the firing of Iowa State OC Mark Mangino ?

   

What can business leaders learn from the Mark Mangino Firing?

 

What happened this week when Iowa State shed Offensive Coordinator Mark Mangino and went on to shutout Texas?

What can business leaders learn from this? It's what coaches refer to as addition by subtraction.  It is when the whole functions better than the sum of the parts after a negative weight has been lifted. 

 

I could spend a lot of time dissecting this hire and fire (and maybe I will in future posts) but the cliff's notes version is this was not a core values and cultural fit.  That's what this blog post is about.  Making sure you understand what makes your business unique and hiring and firing around your core values and culture.

 

It is easiest to see the impact of this in pro football where you can simply let a player go if they do not fit the culture. The entire building feels like a better place after you finally release a player you should have weeks ago.  In football, you may see the potential of the player and worry they leave you and go on to be a star with someone else... and it will come back to haunt you.  A pro coaches biggest fear is cutting a player that moves on to a division rival and has success.  There only feeling worse than listening to a guy run by your bench talking smack after he just scored on your defense is listening to the guy you cut do the same. In business, you may worry about what others in the industry will say.  What if they go on to have success with another organization and make your business look bad? You put off the inevitable because you fear conflict. You put off the inevitable over fear about what others may think or say.  Leadership is committing to do what you know is right for those who will be with your company long after you have had to make a change and let someone go. 

 

Making changes can be tough.  Previous success with another organization does not mean that person will simply plug-in to your business or your team and produce at the same rate.  In business  and in football people have to match your core values and they have to match your culture.  It is not as simple as just plugging a coordinator or a sales person.  Teams in sports and business are  about more than the resume.  Previous sales experience in the market place, experience recruiting a specific geographic area, product specific knowledge or experience working in a specific offensive system...these are reasons we use to justify hiring people.  But, the core values and culture have to be a fit.  Leadership is about recognizing your core values and culture and hiring, evaluating, promoting and firing around the core values and the culture.  In the short term change can be painful.  There are no guarantees that after you make the change you are going to have immediate success.  But, if you stay true to your unique core values and culture and truly understand what makes your organization tick...you will win more than you lose and have a leg up on your competition.