The Power of a True Story

Stephen Denning, Annette Simmons, and Doug Lipman are among the world’s great authorities on the business narrative. Denning, Eliyahu Goldratt, and Patrick Lencioni have written more than a dozen bestsellers that indicate how effective a story can be when used to illustrate business principles. Over the years, I have heard dozens of true stories that possessed great power because they are anchored in human experience. Those in business who wish to master the skills of persuasion would be well-advised to create a human context for their observations and recommendations.

Here is a true story I was told long ago, and I cannot recall some of the details. In the final game of the season with the NCAA national football championship at stake, two archrivals prepare. Let’s say Alabama versus Auburn, at Auburn. It’s Monday and Auburn’s coach receives a call from the dean of students informing him that the father of one of his players (a senior and four-year benchwarmer) has just died of a massive heart attack and the boy is needed at home. He is the eldest of ten children. The dean asks the coach to locate him and tell him, help him pack, and then drive him to the airport to catch a plane home. The boy is devastated but somehow pulls himself together and takes the flight home.

The following Saturday morning, on the day of the big game, the coach arrives at the locker room and is astonished to see the player at his locker putting on his uniform. He goes over to him, gives him a hug, and asks if everything went well at home. “Lovely service. Full church. Mom’s fine.” Pause. “Coach, I want to start today.” He had never started a game before and hadn’t done much to distinguish himself. However, on a hunch, the coach agreed. Well, the boy played a great game, his team won, he received the MVP award, and was carried off the field on the shoulders of his teammates.

Later, in the raucous locker room as all the other players celebrated, the boy quietly removed his uniform. The coach made his way through the crowd, hugged the boy, and congratulated him for having played an outstanding game. “I do have a question, if you don’t mind my asking.” “Sure.” “You rode the bench for four years and then, today, you played the greatest game I have ever seen anyone play.” Pause. “Well, coach, I guess you didn’t know that my father was blind. Today was the first time he could see me play.”

Wisdom from Coach Wooden: “A coach is someone who can give correction without creating resentment.”

Well, this is “coaches day” on our blog.  Bob Morris told this terrific story of Bear Bryant.  Here’s a little John Wooden, who just celebrated his 99th birthday..

First, a few reminders about John Wooden’s record:
• 10 national championships (a record)
• seven in a row (a record)
• 88 consecutive victories (a record)
• 38 straight tournament playoff wins (a record)
• four perfect seasons (a record) with only one losing year – his first  –in 41 years of coaching

Recently, Mike Penner wrote this article for the Los Angeles Times: On his 99th birthday, 99 things about John Wooden (To commemorate the legendary coach’s birthday, here are some facts and figures about his life).

You’ll want to read all 99 things about Coach Wooden.  Here are a few gems:
12. Wooden is noted for his philosophical quotes about life and sportsmanship, such as: “Failure is not fatal but failure to change might be.”
14. During one 46-game stretch, he made 134 consecutive free throws.
27. Wooden turned down an offer to coach the Lakers from owner Jack Kent Cooke that may have been 10 times what UCLA was paying him.
28. The record Wooden is the most proud of? His Bruins teams won 19 conference championships.
31. Another quote from Wooden: “The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.”
41. Another quote from Wooden: “Young people need models, not critics.”
51. Another quote from Wooden: “Talent is God given; be humble. Fame is man given; be thankful. Conceit is self given; be careful.”
82. Another quote from Wooden: “A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.”

Here’s a little more, from his book, Wooden on Leadership,

(from the foreword):
Here is the answer:  Coach Wooden taught good habits.  That’s it – that’s the answer.
Move past the equation, delve deeper, and the text of his good habits curriculum becomes the inculcation of values, knowledge, team spirit, discipline, consistency, standards, ideals, balance, character, details, hard work, love, self-control, loyalty, diligence, and more, including how to put on your socks in the most effective manner.

And — from Coach Wooden himself:

What am I?  Just a teacher – a member of one of the great professions in the world.

Have a definite practice plan – and follow it.

Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success is a true classic.  And everything about his life:  his marriage, his faith, his humility, his unending pursuit of excellence, stands as true genuine leadership.

click on image to enlarge

When I presented my synopsis of Wooden on Leadership, one of our regulars sent me an e-mail.  He had heard Wooden speak, and described his credibility, his quiet strength – and then he said “Coach Wooden is the real deal.”  Yes, he is.

John Wooden conducts a clinic and speaks to Special Olympians in December, 2008. (Los Angeles Times)

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To purchase my synopsis of Wooden on Leadership, with audio + handout, go to our companion web site 15minutebusinessbooks.com.

“It Don’t Cost Nuthin’ to be Nice”

Paul ("Bear") Bryant

The way I heard it, Coach Paul (“Bear”) Bryant told the following story at a Touchdown Club meeting many years before his death:

*     *     *

I had just been named the new head coach at Alabama and was off in my old car down in South Alabama recruiting a prospect who was supposed to have been a pretty good player and I was havin’ trouble finding the place. Getting hungry I spied an old cinder block building with a small sign out front that simply said “Restaurant.”

I pull up, go in and every head in the place turns to stare at me. Seems I’m the only white fella in the place. But the food smelled good so I skip a table and go up to a cement bar and sit. A big ole man in a tee shirt and cap comes over and says, “What do you need?” I told him I needed lunch and what did they have today? He says, “You probably won’t like it here, today we’re having chitlins, collared greens and black eyed peas with cornbread. I’ll bet you don’t even know what chitlins (small intestines of hogs prepared as food in the deep South) are, do you?” I looked him square in the eye and said, “I’m from Arkansas, I’ve probably eaten a mile of them. Sounds like I’m in the right place.” They all smiled as he left to serve me up a big plate. When he comes back he says, “You ain’t from around here then?”

I explain I’m the new football coach up in Tuscaloosa at the University and I’m here to find whatever that boy’s name was and he says, yeah I’ve heard of him, he’s supposed to be pretty good. And he gives me directions to the school so I can meet him and his coach. As I’m paying up to leave, I remember my manners and leave a tip, not too big to be flashy, but a good one and he told me lunch was on him, but I told him for a lunch that good, I felt I should pay.

The big man asked me if I had a photograph or something he could hang up to show I’d been there. I was so new that I didn’t have any yet. It really wasn’t that big a thing back then to be asked for, but I took a napkin and wrote his name and address on it and told him I’d get him one.

I met the kid I was lookin’ for later that afternoon and I don’t remember his name, but do remember I didn’t think much of him when I met him. I had wasted a day, or so I thought. When I got back to Tuscaloosa late that night, I took that napkin from my shirt pocket and put it under my keys so I wouldn’t forget it. Back then I was excited that anybody would want a picture of me. The next day we found a picture and I wrote on it, “Thanks for the best lunch I’ve ever had.”

Now let’s go a whole buncha years down the road. Now we have black players at Alabama and I’m back down in that part of the country scouting an offensive lineman we sure needed. Y’all remember, (and I forget the name, but it’s not important to the story), well anyway, he’s got two friends going to Auburn and he tells me he’s got his heart set on Auburn too, so I leave empty handed and go on see some others while I’m down there.

Two days later, I’m in my office in Tuscaloosa and the phone rings and it’s this kid who just turned me down, and he says, “Coach, do you still want me at Alabama?” And I said, “Yes I sure do.” And he says OK, he’ll come. And I say, “Well son, what changed your mind?” And he said, “When my grandpa found out that I had a chance to play for you and said no, he pitched a fit and told me I wasn’t going nowhere but Alabama, and wasn’t playing for nobody but you. He thinks a lot of you and has ever since y’all met.” Well, I didn’t know his granddad from Adam’s housecat so I asked him who his granddaddy was and he said, “You probably don’t remember him, but you ate in his restaurant your first year at Alabama and you sent him a picture that he’s had hung in that place ever since. That picture’s his pride and joy and he still tells everybody about the day that Bear Bryant came in and had chitlins with him.”

“My grandpa said that when you left there, he never expected you to remember him or to send him that picture, but you kept your word to him and to Grandpa, that’s everything. He said you could teach me more than football and I had to play for a man like you, so I guess I’m going to.”

I was floored. But I learned that the lessons my mama taught me were always right. It don’t cost nuthin’ to be nice. It don’t cost nuthin’ to do the right thing most of the time, and it costs a lot to lose your good name by breakin ‘ your word to someone.

When I went back to sign that boy, I looked up his Grandpa and he’s still running that place, but it looks a lot better now; and he didn’t have chitlins that day, but he had some ribs that woulda made Dreamland proud and I made sure I posed for a lot of pictures; and don’t think I didn’t leave some new ones for him, too, along with a signed football.

I made it clear to all my assistants to keep this story and these lessons in mind when they’re out on the road. If you remember anything else from me, remember this. It really doesn’t cost anything to be nice, and the rewards can be unimaginable.

*     *     *

Note: Coach Bryant was in the presence of those few gentlemen for only minutes, and he defined himself for life. Regardless of our profession, we do define ourselves by how we treat others, and how we behave in the presence of others, and most of the time, we have only minutes or perhaps only a few seconds to leave a lasting impression. We can be rude, crude, arrogant, cantankerous, or we can be nice. Nice is always a better choice. We all do well to remember what Stephen Grellet, French/American religious leader (1773-1855), said, “I expect to pass through the world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

10 Must-Read Articles from HBR

I highly recommend 10 Must-Read Articles from HBR. The articles were written by Clayton M. Christensen, Michael Overdorf, Thomas H. Davenport, Peter F. Drucker, Daniel Goleman, Robert S. Kaplan, David P. Norton, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, John P. Kotter, Theodore Levitt, Michael E. Porter, C. K. Prahalad, and Gary Hamel, $29.95 and published by Harvard Business Press (2009).

The cost of this volume is about half of what the cost would be if all ten articles were purchased separately. There is also the matter of convenience: Having all of them assembled in a single volume. Each of these really is a “classic.”

The various HBR Article Collections save you time by synthesizing and distilling the essence of selected Harvard Business Review articles that, together, help you meet a specific management challenge. One-page overviews draw out the main points. Annotated bibliographies point you to related resources. Includes original HBR articles.

If you read nothing else, read these 10 articles from HBR‘s most influential authors: 1) “Meeting the Challenge of Disruptive Change,” by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael Overdorf, explains why so few established companies innovate successfully. 2) “Competing on Analytics,” by Thomas H. Davenport, explains how to use data-collection technology and analysis to discern what your customers want, how much they’re willing to pay, and what keeps them loyal. 3) “Managing Oneself,” by Peter F. Drucker, encourages us to carve our own paths by asking questions such as, “What are my strengths?” and “Where do I belong?” 4) “What Makes a Leader?” Not IQ or technical skills, says Daniel Goleman, but emotional intelligence. 5) “Putting the Balanced Scorecard to Work,” by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, includes practical steps and examples from companies that use the balanced scorecard to measure performance and set strategy. 6) “Innovation: The Classic Traps,” by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, advocates applying lessons from past failures to your innovation efforts. She explores four problems and offers remedies for each. 7) “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail,” by John P. Kotter, argues that transformation is a process, not an event. It takes years, not weeks, and you can’t skip any steps. 8) “Marketing Myopia,” by Theodore Levitt, introduces the quintessential strategy question, “What business are you really in?” 9) “What Is Strategy?” by Michael E. Porter, argues that rivals can easily copy your operational effectiveness, but they can’t copy your strategic positioning–what distinguishes you from all the rest. 10) “The Core Competence of the Corporation,” by C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel, argues that a diversified company is like a tree: the trunk and major limbs its core products, branches its business units, leaves and fruit its end products. Nourishing and stabilizing everything is the root system: its core competencies.

Commentary: Better Business Writing

Harvard University

Many of those who read these posts are eager to improve the quality of their writing, especially when pursuing business objectives. One of the workshops I conduct for corporate executives is based on an acronym, EDNA: Exposition explains with information; Description makes vivid with compelling details; Narration in non-fiction explains a process or sequence whereas in fiction it provides a plot; and Argumentation convinces with logic and/or evidence.

I highly recommend checking out dailyalert@email.harvardbusiness.org and the wealth of material provided there. Better yet, sign up for the daily alerts.

Meanwhile, here is an introduction to Harvard Business School Publishing Guide to Better Business Writing, $19.95 and published by Harvard Business Press:

Information is the lifeblood of business today, yet so many managers and employees convey information poorly in their writing. A recent survey of 120 blue-chip American companies found that a third of employees wrote poorly, a problem businesses are spending more than $3 billion a year to correct. This collection of Harvard Management Communications Letter articles lays out proven strategies for improving writing by guiding busy executives and employees in organizing their ideas quickly and communicating them clearly and concisely. For instance, “The Best Memo You’ll Ever Write” and “Writing Well When Time Is Tight” focus on a time-pressed manager’s need for a streamlined process to get ideas down on paper. “Writing an Executive Summary That Means Business,” “Don’t Push That Send Button!” and “Making Your Proposal Come Out on Top” provide tips on adjusting writing to make it most effective in a particular format or context. Also included in this collection are “Find the Right Tone for Your Business Writing,” “Five Quick Ways to Trim Your Writing,” “How to Write Correctly Without Knowing the Rules,” “Is Following the Rules Tripping Up Your Message?” and “How to Engineer Compelling Prose: Teaching a Techie to Write.”

Here are other articles available:

• Ten Principles of Good Business Writing
• Six Ways to Grab Your Audience Right from the Start
• 10 Must-Read Articles from HBR
• How to Make Your Case in 30 Seconds or Less
• Writing an Executive Summary That Means Business