What Is The Secret To Success?

This upcoming football season will be the 63^rd consecutive year in which a “Bowden” is a college head football coach.
Terry Bowden is the current head football coach at the University of Akron.  Between himself, his father Bobby and brothers Tommy and Jeff, they have won 631 games.
Terry spoke at a recent Accelerent breakfast and had all the charisma and storytelling ability you’d expect from someone who comes from a coaching family.  He was quick to point out that his mom, Bobby’s wife, is the winningest female in college football history!
He said when building an organization, a championship team or business, you must ask yourself three questions:

Three Questions To Ask Yourself

1. Do you want to be the best at what you do?
   1. It takes a desire to compete. He said he learned to compete from his dad and three brothers, who each wanted to be the best at anything they did.  And it takes a “TNT” (Today – Not Tomorrow) attitude.
2. Are you willing to pay the price?
   1. There is no secret to success: it’s hard work.  He shared a story about how the grad assistants at his first job were to make the coffee if they were the first to arrive at work.  As a grad assistant he made the coffee every day for four straight years.  When he wanted to get back into coaching at the age of 50, he again was the guy making the coffee, beating the grad assistants to work every day.
3. Will you take responsibility?
   1. No matter what position in the company, each person must be accountable for their role. Everyone has to do their job.  It doesn’t matter if you are the person responsible for “typing up the game plan” or the “person calling the plays,” each must have the attitude that demonstrates: “But for my effort, we won’t win.  But for my ability, we won’t win.”

There are so many similarities to winning in business and winning on the field.