Thoughts on Excellence Free E-Newsletter Series
Issue No. 11
March, 2010
By Dan Coughlin
Always stay open to the possibility of learning. A few months ago I had one of my greatest learning experiences from a situation that I would never have predicted.
My professional passion revolves around improving group performances. I believe that extraordinary group performances are at the core of every successful business. Apple didn’t create the iPhone and neither did a single individual. It was the combined effort of groups of people within Apple that created such an iconic product. When you get great service at a restaurant or watch a great film keep in mind that the company didn’t deliver that service or product, nor did one person do it by himself or herself. It was done by a group of people within the organization. Improving the performance of your work group is one of the critical keys to the success of both your organization and your career.
Learn from the Winningest High School Soccer Coach in U.S. History
I encourage you to read a very, very special conversation I had with one of the premier experts on group performance that I’ve ever met. His name is Terry Michler. He is the head soccer coach at CBC High School. He is also the all-time winningest high school soccer coach in U.S. history. In 39 seasons he has won 809 games, six state championships, and six runner-up trophies.
But Terry is so much more than just that. As he explained his approaches to coaching high school soccer players, I saw very clearly the relevance of his ideas for managers in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. I believe you will benefit greatly by reading his ideas. You don’t have to know anything about soccer to learn powerful and practical insights on improving the performance of your group from Terry Michler. Rarely have I ever met anyone who is so dedicated to constantly improving the art of managing group performances.
Click here to read Find a Way to Win: A Conversation on Managing Great Team Performances with Terry Michler, America’s All-Time Winningest High School Soccer Coach.
Republishing Articles
My newsletters, Thoughts on Excellence, have been republished in approximately 40 trade magazines, on-line publications, and internal publications for businesses, universities, and not-for-profit organizations over the past 20+ years. If you would like to republish all or part of my monthly articles, please send me an e-mail at dan@thecoughlincompany.com with the name of the article you want in the subject heading. I will send you the article in a word document.