One thing I have never understood is how most people fail to look beyond the surface of the things they see or read. I have always been more fascinated by the subtext of the things around me. I am constantly learning more things of value from what is not said or done as opposed to what is said or done.

I was at a party recently, watching the USC vs. Notre Dame game while those around me were talking about various college football teams and coaches. The outcome of the game was in doubt and I was still focused on it when I overheard a woman mention “how that coach at Oregon needs to be more polite to those reporters who interview him at halftime,” followed by another person backing her up by pointing out that “the reporters are just doing their job.”

I managed to resist my initial temptation to join the conversation and stayed focused on the game until I heard the conversation escalate when another woman referred to Oregon head coach Chip Kelly as “a jerk.” Despite the fact USC was driving for what looked like the winning score I could resist no more.

I entered the conversation by saying I get more enjoyment out of Kelly’s halftime and post game interviews than any other coach in the country. They all were shocked and appalled and asked me why? I said other than Arizona State head coach Dennis Erickson he’s about the only coach who answers their questions with honest replies and without a bunch of coach-speak drivel. They responded that he didn’t have to be such a jerk and the reporters were just doing their job. To which I pointed out that his job is to win the football game being played, not placate the sideline reporters. I also pointed out that most reporters do like him, but he wouldn’t care if they didn’t, because that is beyond his control and not worth his time.

How does this all fit into my original premise that little things reveal a lot? “We are what we repeatedly do, therefore excellence is not an act, but a habit” as Aristotle is widely misattributed* to having said. One of Chip Kelly’s main philosophies is not to adjust to what other teams are doing, but rather to make them adjust to his team. That’s exactly what he is doing with all of the sideline reporters. Going about the business of doing his job and letting them adjust to him. It’s his habit and part of the genius in the way he leads.

Kelly understands that every single second anyone spends worrying about things beyond their control, like what others think of them, is a second wasted that could have been used improving oneself. To get a mental edge you need to stay focused on the task at hand and not waste any time on worry or thoughts of things beyond your sphere of influence. If you change all of those seconds into productive uses, they will become minutes which will become hours, which will become days, months, years and soon form the foundation for productive habits regardless of what you are doing and lead to a fulfilling life.

It all starts from the top and Oregon’s team success is a reflection of the habits Chip Kelly has nurtured and developed in himself and is now instilling in the members of his team. Kelly knows that little things mean a lot and that they are the “secret” to achieving big things.

Keep making people adjust to you Chip and never stop learning and growing!

*= That quote is actually a summation of what Aristotle said in the Nicomachean Ethics, done by Will Durant in the book The Story of Philosophy – published in 1926

Posted in The Mind Side Blog