I recently read several articles focused on the hidden meaning behind some of Tiger Woods’ quotes, following his second place finish to Graeme McDowell in last weekend’s Chevron World Challenge. Now I will be the first to admit that you

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

We all learned in science class that what goes up must come down thanks to gravity. However, few of us learned that there’s a force almost as strong as gravity known as human nature that has the same effect on

Recently we have seen an increase in the number of news stories about trash talking. Whether it’s Kevin Garnett and Charlie Villanueva or Laron Landry’s taunting of DeSean Jackson and his Philadelphia Eagle teammates during warm-ups this past Monday night,

The two most important components in the success of any organization are leadership and communication. To be an effective head coach requires that you not only lead but also inspire and manage. This is done best through effective communication.

Almost every decision in life comes down to weighing the potential benefits against the potential hazards of the choice. In the case of Randy Moss, who was recently released by the Minnesota Vikings (soon after wearing out his welcome with the New England Patriots), 21-teams passed up the chance to grab the future Hall of Fame member before team number 22 in the pecking order, the Tennessee Titans, decided to roll the dice with him.

Have you ever wondered why some teams and businesses are consistently successful and others come and go? How has IBM been able to stay at or near the top of the business world for over half a century? Why are the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics always at or near the top while the Los Angeles Clippers are perennially at or near the bottom? How could four of the five top teams in the current BCS rankings, have achieved those rankings without having a single top 20 ranked recruiting class in any of the past five years between them?

The NFL undoubtedly has their heart in the right place in wanting to protect players from vicious illegal hits. But as English poet John Milton first said back in the 17th-century “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”

In this case it appears that those good intentions caused the NFL to overreact in levying $175,000 in fines to three defensive players for illegal hits in last weekend’s games . In fact one of those players’ hits, though vicious, was clearly legal under the leagues current rules . Clearly the league wanted to send a message, but the message it delivered was so unclear that it is sure to ripple through the league causing unintended consequences.

I think there is a lot more going on here than meets the eye. Imagine that you were suspended from your job for over half of the previous year and spent time in a halfway house for doing something that was clearly wrong. Now imagine that your being suspended from work was a major media story that continues to be focused on to this day. Then think about all the anguish and regret you have been feeling since it happened for letting so many people down, remembering that you are still just 28-years old. Do you think you would be nervous about getting up and being introduced in front of over 9,000 people, most of whom you do not know and have no idea how they will react to you?

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay’s no-hitter in his first MLB play-off game last night was directly attributable to his preparation and routine. When I say preparation and routine I am referring to both the physical and mental aspects of his game. Clearly when you throw a no-hitter you have to physically be coming at batters with your best pitches, but what allows you to keep coming at each successive batter with your best stuff, pitch after pitch and inning after inning, is an entrenched routine that allows you stay out of your head.