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WilBear 11-02-015 |
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Bear Bryant on
Leadership Six Lessons
from a Six-Time National Championship Coach Pat
Williams with Tommy Ford Advantage,
2010, 201 pp. ISBN 978-1-59932-210-0 |
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Pat Williams has been a
sports executive for more than 40 years and is the author of more than 10 books
on leadership. Paul (Bear) Bryant, the
most high-profile coach in college football history, is perhaps the third
best known name in the South, after Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. In 25 years as Alabama's head coach, his
teams won 14 SEC and six national championships and he became by the time he
retired, the winningest college football coach of
all time. This book, made up almost
entirely of quotations and observations of former players, opponents, and
colleagues, is a natural for sports enthusiasts. The book is divided into sections on
vision, communication, people skills, character, competence, boldness, and a
serving heart. Paul Bryant died in
January, 1983, just a few weeks after coaching his last game. "Bryant knew what
vision was all about. He saw the
future before it arrived." (25)
Vision keeps you focused, keeps you fueled, and helps you finish. (26)
He met with the freshmen recruits in 1958 and told them what football
should mean to them and what the program would be. He challenged them with what it would take
to do it, and they believed him.
"And every time I saw them
after that I felt the same way. The
pride they had. They had a goal and
they never lost sight of it." (28) "Motivation has been defined as 'getting others to do what you want
them to do, because they want to do it." (45)
"Are you just content
with what you do, or are you committed
to what you do?" (67) "Great leaders have a
heart for people; they care about other people; they're interest in people;
they have empathy for people; they love people." "Eddie Robinson, the great Grambling
coach said you have to coach every player as if he were going to marry your
daughter. He said, 'You can't coach
'em if you don't love 'em.'" (77)
"The highest
compliment you can pay anybody is to listen to them and truly focus on them
in an uninterrupted fashion. To me,
it's the ultimate people skill.
Equally important is to ask them questions,
like, 'What do you think? How are things going with you?
What would you do if you were in my situation? How would you make this call?'" (84)
"Coach Bryant never
missed an opportunity to praise a coach or a player…." (87)
"Make your praise mean something.
I like sugar, but not a whole truckload of it." (88) "To a man, they talked
about Bryant's mastery of the mental side of football, how he willed them to
win, how he took the average players and made them great, how he made them
better people, and how he sought 'one heartbeat, one team.'" (100) "There are just three things I ever say: If anything goes bad, then I
did it. If anything goes semi-good,
then we did it. If anything goes real
good, then you did it. That's all it
takes to get people to win football games for you." (Paul W. "Bear" Bryant) "You can no more have
leadership without character than you can have water without the wet."
(105) "I've always had the
impression that the tongue in Coach Bryant's mouth was pointing in the same
direction as the tongue in his shoes; his walk and his talk matched."
(106) "Also, Coach was honest
enough and willing enough to own up to his mistakes. That's an endearing quality when you admit
to your faults." (107) "It's not the will to
win that matters. Everyone has
that. It's the will to prepare to win
that matters." (116, Paul
Brant) "'Being tired makes
cowards of us all.' Every day in my
life there is something I've got to press through and get done. Those lessons on perseverance form Coach
Bryant will stick with me forever."
"Alabama football was all about never quitting." (119) "When you win, you
should be thankful and humble. When
you are at rock bottom, don't ever give up, keep fighting, and ultimately,
success will come again." (121) "When we played on
Saturday afternoons…there'd be 60,000 in the stands, including our friends
and families. That crowd didn't matter
because the only person we cared about pleasing was that man on the sideline
with the hat on." (121) "I don't care what you
wear, but look good, act good, and talk good.
You are representing the University of Alabama and you have to look
good when you travel with me. Be a
gentleman and always act with class."
(124, Coach Bryant) At the end of the day, you
lead by your influence. (125) "You can't teach
unless you're committed to being a learner.
And the reason you must learn is because the world is changing so
fast." (141) The best leaders are
organized and prepared. "He once
told me that for every minute of practice, his coaches spent ten minutes
planning." (151) Balance between professional
life and personal life may have been Coach Bryant's greatest weakness, which
is probably the same with all the great leaders. (159)
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