Insanity
They say that
the definition of insanity is to repeat the same things over and over again ...
then expect a different result.
Take golf & what is known as a hacker. What reinforces this
behavior. When playing golf, it is typical to be in a group of friends to
form what is otherwise known as a foursome. To be direct, this group of
four favors the owner of the course, not the player, as in this group you are
competing with each other to show off your skills. It is during this
competition that you might combine new knowledge and new concepts ... basically
trying new things hoping for some type of a different result. Sure, there
might be some improvement due to the amount of play combined with the crumbs of
knowledge that might fall off the table, but you are at a unique disadvantage
under that competitive screen. At that moment during play, you have only
one opportunity to make that shot or that put. In short, while competing,
you are destined to reinforce bad behavior. On the other hand, if you play
alone, you can drop a ball over and over again until you prove to yourself that
you can in fact make that shot. Although frowned upon ... you are now
reinforcing positive behavior by achieving positive results. Now imagine,
how do I make that perfect approach from 60 to 90 yards? Generally
speaking, you cannot master your mechanics on a driving range (except for using
your driver on the tee box) as every possible condition changes on the
course.
Now lets apply the above concepts to our beloved Vikings franchise. Does
history reveal a reoccurring pattern? In the conclusion of the 1998
season, we relied upon a kick in the championship game that sealed the
deal. At the conclusion of the 2015 season we once again relied upon a
kick to advance in the playoffs. Does anyone remember a guy named
Favre futilely driving toward a late field goal attempt? Now consider the
end of our 2012 regular season where we were seconds
away from one of the most important team achievements less maybe hoisting a
Super Bowl trophy. Instead we relied upon a kicker to secure what turned
out to be a meaningless playoff spot ... something that we've accomplished many
times before with little gratification. With afterthought, how would you
feel today knowing that we went for it with Peterson instead, coming up short 3
yards from the NFL rushing record, missing the 2012 playoff tournament ...
knowing that we risked it all for the chance of attaining Hall of Fame
Immortality ... the stuff that is written in granite. Unfortunately, it is
all gone.
So now ask yourself the question, does Mike Zimmer already have one foot out the
door, even under what is now seen as a successful umbrella? You might be
saying to yourself ... are you kidding? My answer is unequivocally no,
because there is a difference between a championship caliber coaches &
everyone else.
Now imagine Don Shula, Chuck Noll & Bill Walsh. How were these coaches
different from all the hopeful also-rans? Sure, there were allot of
factors to consider in regard to success and failure but these coaches were
different ... very different. It is this differentiation that poses the
question upon Mike Zimmer's success & failure. When I consider these
very famous coaches, what was exactly clear was that it was never enough to just
win, as any team, on any particular day, could shoot themselves in the
foot. Of course, for every NFL coach, losing was not acceptable. So
there must be something that differentiated these particular legendary
coaches.
Now imagine Mike Zimmer standing in front of his 2016 group that he intends to
take forward. He explains to this team that he has in fact learned
something about history that can take this group to where it wants to go.
To a man, they all know that no one will accept losing however what the group
might not be prepared for is that we are not just going to just win any
particular game ... it must be clear how we are going to win these
contests. In my opinion, this "How" is what differentiated these
legendary coaches. If you were to imagine Don Shula's face, calling upon
his kicker at the end of the game, with pure anguish upon his face, to a man
everyone understood that this was a decision of last resort. However,
before they actually arrived at that point, to a man, everyone knew that they
had failed because this point was beyond unacceptable. Said another way,
the sum to its whole of all of your work and efforts to arrive at this
opportunity has been trashed due to the teams lack of a cohesive understanding
to achieve its goals.
Now imagine Zimmer standing in front of his group telling them that I'd rather
lose the game than attempt a quick fix that saves you from your complete &
utter collective failure. Harsh ... yes it is ... however, what message
does it send. Winning is not enough. You have to go well beyond
winning to achieve your goals. Said another way, I'm not going to let
anyone let me win. I'm going to achieve my
destiny.
It has always been an effective sales technique to take away things.
"So let me understand what you are saying. You don't want to pay this
much ... How about if we can provide a car without air-conditioning. Is
that important to you?" The difference hear is that this isn't about
selling anything. It's about removing what might be a meaningless
accomplishment to achieve something that has true
meaning.
Do you remember the Sean Payton on-side-kick in the 2009 Super Bowl? Did
Sean Peyton will that victory?
So, Mike Zimmer
might be thinking to himself, what can I possibly do to get this group of guys
to its goal. The answer, of course begins with looking inward. What
the art of war tells us is that if your subordinates do not completely
understand your orders (Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg) you are destined for
failure even before you begin. To gain full clarity, the heads of
subordinates were severed to get his point across. The order must first be
clear & concise ... and then it must be followed to the letter.
"Gentlemen ... we
are not kicking a field goal at the end of any game ... to achieve our
goal! Is this crystal clear? There is no last resort ... only
failure. We will find the answers before any finality. Now any man
can deal with this reality."
The Viking Ghost Writer
http://MyVikingBlood.org
Date: July 28, 2016