This post seems like it is about football … but it is really a playbook of things we can do in business.
What Can Business Learn From Football Teams?
If you get a chance to watch an NFL practice … I highly recommend it. It is an awesome experience and opportunity for a businessperson.
Each time I've watched a practice session I've come away impressed by the amount of preparation, effort, and skill displayed.
The Cowboys' coach is Jason Garrett. He is detail-oriented and intellectual. His pedigree … he is a Princeton graduate who played quarterback in the NFL.
During practice, there's a scheduled agenda. Practice is broken into chunks, and each chunk has a designed purpose and a desired intensity. There's a rhythm, even to the breaks.
Every minute was scripted. You could tell there was a long-term plan … but, there was also a focus on the short-term details (many details).
They alternate between individual and group drills. Moreover, the drills run fast … but for shorter time periods than you'd guess. It is bang-bang-bang – never longer than a millennial's attention span. And they move from drill to drill – working not just on plays, but the skillsets as well (where are you looking, which foot do you plant, how do you best use your hands, etc.).
They use advanced technology (including advanced player monitoring, bio-metric tracking, and medical recovery devices … but also things like robotic tackling dummies and virtual reality headsets).
They don't just film games, they film the practices … and each individual drill. Coaches and players get a cut of the film on their tablet as soon as they leave. It is a process of constant feedback, constant improvement, or constant renewal.
How you do one thing is how you do everything. So, they try to do everything right.
Pro football is one thing. College football is another. But, even in high school, the coaches have a game plan. There are team practices and individual drills. They have a depth chart, which lists the first, second, and third choice to fill certain roles.
The focus is not just internal, on the team. They focus on the competition as well. Before a game, the coaches prepare a game plan and have the team watch tape of their opponent in order to understand the tendencies and mentally prepare for what's going to happen.
During the game, changes in personnel groups and schemes keep competitors on their toes and allow the team to identify coverages and predict plays. Coaches from different hierarchies work in tandem to respond faster to new problems.
After the game, the film is reviewed in detail. Each person gets a grade on each play, and the coaches make notes for each person about what they did well and what they could do better.
Think about it … everyone knows what game they are playing … and for the most part, everybody understands the rules, and how to keep score (and even where they are in the standings).
Imagine how easy that would be to do in business. Imagine how much better things could be if you did those things.
Genius Network is a business group that also serves as an advisory board, counselor's office, and idea factory.
It brings brilliant minds and industry transformers together in a forum focused on innovation, creative disruption, and possibility.
Peer groups, like this, help you set (and raise) standards.
They help bring new capabilities, but also new possibilities, new found energies and a reconnection to your purpose, mission, and values.
This is a great place to meet extraordinary people.
Buck Joffrey is one of them. He is a doctor, an international best selling author, member of Genius Network, and host of WealthFormula (which is a podcast where he educates professionals on how to build lasting wealth).
Buck recently interviewed me for WealthFormula. We talked about old-world trading versus new-world trading … and where I think A.I and Machine Learning have the best opportunities to add alpha and help investors make and keep more money.
You can listen to it below (or subscribe to his podcast on iTunes, Android, or RSS).
I'm getting cynical, I understand planned obsolescence … but has it occurred to you that Apple could make their phones act sluggish just before the launch of a new version?
My phone has been driving me nuts. So, (as I write this) I'm up at 2 am to place my order for the new iPhone X.
On one hand, it satisfies my desire for the new and shiny … but, on the other hand, it makes it harder for my wife.
Buying gifts is often hard. But it gets harder when the giftee already has everything (or buys it himself).
Every year since 1959, Neiman Marcus has published a Christmas Book. Primarily comprised of normal Neiman Marcus offerings … the book also contains pretty amazing "fantasy" gifts. For example, who doesn't want a rose-gold Cobalt Valkyrie-X private plane (worth $1.5 million) …
Neiman Marcus
I don't know about you, but it's a little feminine for me.
Or, there is a private Submarine (worth $20,000,000).
Neiman Marcus
But that is only good if you don't have one already.
You can check out NM's 2017 Fantasy Gift List, here, and get a personal trip to Champagne, France or a pair of specially commissioned His and Hers Rolls Royces.
Let me know if you have any good gift ideas. I'm always looking for them.
According to The Guardian, there are now 1,542 billionaires in the world. Meanwhile, last year, the collective wealth of billionaires increased almost a fifth – to six trillion dollars. For context, that's more than almost every country's GDP… except the top 4 (China, United States, India, and Japan).
The first Gilded Age was established by monopolies in US rail, oil, steel, and banking.
Income equality was extreme with the Vanderbilts being worth $185 billion due to his railroad empire, Andew Carnegie being worth $309 billion due to his steel empire, and John D. Rockefeller built an Oil empire (it controlled about 90% of the American oil business) that netted him $336 billion.
It's interesting to look at the transition from the richest in the late 1800's to the richest in 2017 … the transition from industries like Steel, Oil and Rail, into companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Walmart.
While there are more "super-rich" today than before, our wealthiest individuals don't compare to before. Jeff Bezos is worth approximately $90 billion, Bill Gates is worth approximately $90 billion, and the Walton family has a combined net worth of about $149 billion. You can check out a full list of the top 10 richest people here.
Let me know when your name makes that list. I'll do the same.
But, what it means is up for interpretation. For example, one of the top digital marketers remains largely unfazed. Below is a video I did with Ryan Deiss, who has a different perspective on AI than I do.
Check it out:
Ryan understands that marketing relies heavily on data-analytics and automation … but he believes that it is also reliant on the personal touch.
I agree that people are still a vital aspect of many businesses, and can't be fully replaced. However, I am dramatically more bullish on AI and its future and impact.
In many instances, today, what passes as AI is just an elegant use of brute force.
Nonetheless, AI is great at solving problems … and is becoming increasingly able to digest and perform complex tasks (including tasks formerly thought of as done exclusively by humans).
Ryan believes that the best AI makes a conversation more human (in regards to selling and retail) and allows humans to be more human. In other words, as technology frees people up – they are free to spend their time on more valuable tasks and processes.
This has happened many times in society. Fewer people work in farming or manufacturing … and yet there are more people doing more jobs.
So, obviously, in the same way that mechanization freed up workforces for better jobs, AI can do the same.
Realize, however, that human perception is linear … while technological growth is exponential. Consequently, we probably do not know what AI will give (or take from) humans.
Only time will tell.
Meanwhile, some of the biggest companies are making big bets on R&D.
According to the World Economic Forum, if the Japanese wanted to pay off their national debt, each individual would owe approximately $90,345. For comparison, US citizens would owe $61,539 a person.
It's also worth noting that lower debt levels don't translate to safety on a global scale. Yugoslavia had very low government debt until its breakup.
If you want to see an updated, interactive version of the U.S. Debt Clock, just click here. It is worth spending a little time to watch the pace the numbers turn.
Alan is a wealth manager to the ultra-wealthy. His American Dreams show is very popular in Silicon Valley.
It's a show about finding your path in life, and making businesses thrive through adversity and challenging economic times.
We talked about my career path and how I went from a young lawyer to spending over 25 years running tech companies … and we talked about the lessons I learned along the way.
It is different than other interviews I've done. Take a look.
