One of the two gentlemen who bought our company in 1954, Chet Austin gave me this book for Christmas. With no other immediate title to read, I picked it up just before New Year’s and started into it not sure what to expect.
What I found was quite a gem with small examples scattered throughout that I believe help clarify some questions around leadership. Business has been full of challenges since the week of Christmas, causing me to dig deep and ask questions about our strategies, my leadership, and what needs to happen next. Quiet Strength arrived with impeccable timing.
The first key take-away for me began with these words: “Although all the issues were relatively minor, they contributed to the team’s second-class, defeatist, excuse-laden mentality. I began to sell the philosophy that we are responsible for what happens to us, not anyone or anything else. No excuses, no explanations.” In reality, ownership is not natural in our Freudian-saturated society. It takes real character, guts, and humility to step up and say it is our responsibility. We have to own it and the folks on our team need to own it also. If they don’t take that level of responsibility, we will live like Dungy described: second-class, defeatist, and excuse-laden. We will never succeed that way. Let’s take responsibility, own it, and get on with fixing those minor issues so we can succeed.
The second take-away is that consistent execution produces champions. He quotes Chuck Noll, “Champions are champions not because they do anything extraordinary but because they do the ordinary things better than anyone else.” The ninth chapter, Do What We Do, details the expectations Dungy set out for his 1996 Tampa Bay team: “Execute. Do what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to do it. Not almost. All the way. Not most of the time. All of the time. Take ownership. Whatever it takes. No excuses, no explanations.” Over and over, whether the team faced an easy game or was mired in adversity, Coach Dungy reminded his team to “Do what we do.” Whether it was a regular season game or playoff game, “Do what we do.” In other words, the key to success is not flashy, but execution. Consistent execution.
Finally, Dungy is very clear about the source of the success (and his ability to make it through the tough times): Jesus Christ. His faith caused him to do more than talk about his faith; Coach Dungy taught his staff and teams that character is foundational to success. Who his players were in the community, how they treated other teams, and their work ethic must be consistent with their performance on the field. And more importantly, if character wasn’t developed off the field, real long-term (eternal?) success would never happen. What would it profit a man to gain the whole world but forfeit his soul?
Over all, I thought it was a solid but easy to read book with several great themes for life, leadership, and faith.
