On the Tunney Side of the Street, #221, March 23, 2009

On the Tunney Side of the Street #221, March 23, 2009

After Further Review … “Collapse of Distinction” is a new book by colleague Scott McKain, subtitled “Stand out and move up when your competition fails.” http://collapseofdistinction.com/ While this book is about the business world – NOT sports – the title and its impact are intriguing. I thought about the “collapse of distinction” when I learned about the impasse between first year Denver Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels and Broncos star quarterback Jay Cutler. http://www.denverbroncos.com/

The Denver Broncos have always distinguished themselves as an outstanding NFL franchise. However, the firing of Head Coach Mike Shanahan by Broncos owner Pat Bowlen at the end of the 2008 NFL season, did not sit well with the Broncos players and/or fans. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Bowlen Shanahan, whom I’ve known since he was hired as Broncos Quarterback Coach, has distinguished himself as a top NFL Coach. He is only one of six NFL coaches to win back-to-back Super Bowls (XXXII and XXXIII); but when the Broncos went 7&9 (2007) and 8&8 (2008), Bowlen believed a change was needed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Shanahan

Enter McDaniels, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_McDaniels who inherited Cutler as his starting quarterback. Cutler is rated by most experts as a quarterback with a strong arm, but, coming from Vanderbilt University, http://www.vanderbilt.edu/ had not much big-time experience. This issue, however, is not about how Shanahan and/or Cutler performed. This is about new Coach McDaniels arriving on the Broncos scene and wanting to trade Cutler. Cutler’s feelings were hurt. http://www.jaycutler.org/

McDaniels wanted New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel, http://www.patriots.com/team/index.cfm?ac=playerbio&bio=30943 but he was quickly snapped up by the Kansas City Chiefs http://www.kcchiefs.com/. The “hurt” Cutler failed to report for a voluntary program, which McDaniels asked of all current Broncos players. Cutler then expressed his unhappiness to the press, and asked to be traded. None of this is unusual in the business of Pro Football -- business is the operative word. Professional sports are in the business to win. One NFL Head Coach said to me, “As Head Coach, you don’t get paid to coach, you get paid to win.” McDaniels came to the Broncos to win, and thus was taking charge to resurrect the Broncos winning record.

Trade issues happen on every team on a regular basis. What is important is that when issues like these occur, they need to be resolved internally, and not in the press. Neither side wins in the press. Issues debated in the press, collapses the distinction of the T.E.A.M. Let’s hope McDaniels and Cutler can resolve their family squabbles by settling them in one-on-one meetings.

Will you strive to resolve disputable issues internally to keep distinction from collapsing?

For more information about Jim Tunney, please visit his website:
www.JimTunney.com, or if you would like to respond to this message, please send your email to Jim@JimTunney.com

On The Tunney Side of the Street #205, Dec. 1, 2008 (www.JimTunney.com)

After Further Review … The Tennessee Titans (http://www.titansonline.com/) have been the AFC South’s most productive – in terms of wins/losses – this 2008 NFL season. Their impressive, undefeated record of 10 wins and 0 losses is a rare happening in the parity that the NFL hopes to accomplish with its draft system. Impressive – until the New York Jets (http://www.newyorkjets.com/), with new-found leadership in QB Brett Favre (http://www.nfl.com/players/brettfavre/profile?id=FAV540222), showed up in Nashville (home of the Titans) and beat them 34-13 in the 12th week.

That same weekend, our local community college T.E.A.M. was playing a Bowl game with an equally impressive 10-0 record. An upstart opponent won that game 33-31. So the NFL Titans and our college T.E.A.M., both 10-1, didn’t go through the season undefeated. A shame!

Or is it? Well, for starters every T.E.A.M. wants to win the “last one.” For the Titans, they have more to go – so winning the last one is still a possibility. For those college players, whose season is over and have worked more hours than one cares to count, what is next? Is losing a game all that important? Sure it hurts, but you need to realize that it can, and will, strengthen you. You can learn as much from losing as you can from winning. Maybe more!

When we win, we don’t seem to take our time and effort to analyze why we won, ensuring that our next effort will show improvement. Yet when we lose, we spend countless hours analyzing why we lost.

“Success doesn’t always go to the stronger or faster man, but more often goes to the one who thinks he can” – so goes the poem. When you win, you believe you will always win. Losing, however, can create doubt about your ability to win again. That is the essence of sports – believing in your ability to be successful. If sports teaches anything – and I strongly believe it does – its value lies in 3 areas: 1) learning to believe in yourself and your abilities; 2) learning to bounce back from defeat; and 3) learning to work with others for the good of the T.E.A.M. Winning is a mindset!

“You play to win the game” is dominant in my book, It’s the Will, Not the Skill. Winning streaks are nice for the ego and promote bragging rights; fun as long as it lasts, but life goes on. It is easy to be victimized by those glory days. While you must believe you can – and will – win, you must also be able to handle a setback and not lose your confidence. Learning how to deal with losing, and learning how to move on is an important characteristic of a “winner.”

Will you develop the mindset of a winner?



For more information about Jim Tunney, please visit his website:
www.JimTunney.com, or if you would like to respond to this message, please send your email to Jim@JimTunney.com

On The Tunney Side of the Street #203, Nov. 17, 2008 (www.JimTunney.com)

After Further Review ... The value of Teamwork along with how it works has often been discussed in this column. The acronym T.E.A.M., meaning Together Everyone Accomplishes More, has been part of every presentation I have given for more than two decades.

President-Elect Obama stressed Teamwork in his campaign emphasizing that anyone in a leadership role must utilize the T.E.A.M. concept in order to achieve a higher level. A leader who surrounds him or herself with competent people, and then lets them accomplish their tasks and/or responsibilities increases the strength of that leader. (https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/dnc08splashnd)

It takes courage to lead, but it also takes courage to trust in the efforts of your T.E.A.M. Too often we see leaders not willing to delegate responsibilities fearful of losing power. The power that works best is what I call “personal power” - not position power.

An example of personal power happened on national television recently when the Denver Broncos played the Cleveland Browns in an NFL Network Thursday night game. Many NFL fans may not have seen this contest, because it was not accessible on cable or network television. (http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork)

The Broncos trailed the Browns 23-13 in the third quarter, yet rallied to win 34-30, scoring the go ahead touchdown with 1:17 left in the game. That final touchdown pass from Broncos QB Jay Cutler (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Cutler_(American_football) to WR Brandon Marshall (http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/7868%20was the game winner. (http://www.denverbroncos.com/) (http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/)

Marshall was about to “celebrate” his TD catch by displaying a glove that he had hidden inside his football pants. The glove was painted half-white and half-black to demonstrate the “unity” Marshall felt was exhibited by Obama’s victory. While Marshall’s tribute was honorable, NFL rules prohibit “possession or use of foreign or extraneous object(s) that are not part of the uniform, etc.” (See NFL Rule Book page 83, 12-3-1-(h)). WR Terrell Owens was responsible for this inclusion as unsportsmanlike some years back, when he was with the San Francisco 49ers. (http://www.nfl.com/rulebook) (http://www.49ers.com/home.php)

As Marshall prepared to pull out the glove -- teamwork happened! Broncos teammate Brandon Stokley (http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/4755) rushed to Marshall and in a matter of seconds, talked Marshall out of it. “Stokes” was aware that if Marshall displayed the glove, a foul could be called, resulting in a 15-yard penalty on the kickoff – meaning the Broncos would have to kickoff from their 15-yard line. This would give the Browns, trailing by 4 points, a favorable field position with more than one minute left in the game. “Stokes” showed the kind of teamwork that puts T.E.A.M. ahead of self. (http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2008/11/07/brandon-stokely-stops-brandon-marshall-from-performing-an-obama/)

Will you have the courage to “step up” to help your teammates for the good of your T.E.A.M?

On The Tunney Side of the Street #195, Sept. 22, 2008 (www.JimTunney.com)

On the Tunney Side of the Street #195, September 22, 2008

After Further Review … Stephen Covey, author of “Seven Habits of Effective People,” and “The 8th Habit: from Effectiveness to Greatness,” teaches three guidelines for effective collaboration – read: TEAMWORK. http://www.stephencovey.com/

They are: 1) Establish your mission; 2) Set the ground rules; and 3) Identify each member’s strengths. Nothing new here. However, it recalled for me how the NFL officiating crew of seven, of which I was the “crew chief,” strived to be more effective (read: Perfect) on the field every game. See how these apply to you and how you can utilize them each day.

1) Establish your mission. My book “Impartial Judgment” could have been titled “’Cause I Don’t Care Who Wins.” http://www.jimtunney.com/products.html. The mission of each NFL crew is to officiate all 60 minutes of every game without prejudice and mistake-free! Does this put extra pressure on each member of the crew? Not necessarily. Pressure keeps one focused and can be managed when every one is prepared – mentally and physically. The questions are: a) did each one do his homework thoroughly by studying the Rule Book? And b) did everyone physically workout each day to be in game conditioning?

2) Set the ground rules. Each week, before the next game, every official – by himself, as well as with his crew, studies the game film of their previous week’s game looking for ways to improve. Each crew member must be honest to admit a blown call, a missed play, and that he was in the right position to make the call (called mechanics). Only when officials learn from their mistakes will improvement take place. These ground rules help the crew seek perfection. Another important ground rule is to be professional on the field, friendly and courteous, but not “buddy, buddy” with players or coaches.

3) Identify each member’s strengths. It is vital that each official is placed in an on-field position e.g. R, U, HL, LJ, SJ, FJ or BJ, which utilizes his physical and mental strengths to the utmost. While the major responsibility of enforcing the penalty for a foul, for example, is placed on the referee (white hat), it is essential for the effectiveness of the crew, and of course, for the game itself that every official learn, know and ensure that every penalty is properly enforced. And finally, while the strength of a crew depends on the strength of the individual, it is the willingness of each to help another T.E.A.M. member. Teamwork – call it chemistry – is crucial to the success of the game.


Will you practice these suggestions to help your T.E.A.M. move from effectiveness to greatness?


For more information about Jim Tunney, please visit his website:
www.JimTunney.com, or if you would like to respond to this message,
please send your email to Jim@JimTunney.com