RJM posted:It's hard to go from last to first. As someone mentioned a perennial loser can't attract the top talent. But a coach with the right attitude can attract talent that gets the team to .500. Then he can sell, "I got this team this far. I want you to help get us the rest of the way."
There is no doubt in my mind that winning is an approach, a culture and result of the daily grind done properly. It starts with the head coach who sets the vision and creates the path, the assistants drive the vision in operations and approach on a daily basis...winning isn't about special talent.
Don't get me wrong, it takes some talent to win games and it takes some special talent to win titles but the program can / should and needs to create an environment that raises the bar to success.
Business has many of the same needs, there are some business men who can start or take over a company, see a vision for it, hire a few key people and it just happens...but it is never as simple as it just happens - the unseen is the culture, the work ethic, the clear set of objectives, the daily grind to the numbers, the accountability to success and so on.
There is no doubt in my mind that the great coaches in sports cross over - you think John Wooden wouldn't have been a great baseball coach? you think Joe Paterno wouldn't have been a great lacrosse coach? you think Augie Garrito wouldn't have been a great football coach? Those guys would have won regardless of the sport. Obviously those are just a few cherry picked names and there are other great examples.
One of the great things about sports, I believe about baseball in particular, is the relationship to life and business. How to see it, structure it, work for it, create a team to do it because you can't do it alone and repeat it...how deal with failure / losing but never accept it. Those are the things that make baseball great and the lessons that make baseball players great men.