Winning: What Matters Most

This is actually not a one word or one action answer, but this one is right up at the top.

Let  me illustrate from football, especially since the Super Bowl is on everyone’s mind.  In a recent post I referred to the 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick. He has gone from backup to a sensational starter.

In midseason Coach Harbaugh made a change.  He benched the starting quarterback and put in Kaepernick.
And it was not because Alex Smith was doing a poor job.  Of course, all kinds of discussions abounded on all the sports networks. Was it the right move or not?

Like any coach, Harbaugh is relentless about upgrading the team, even when the team is winning.

So why the switch?  Winning the division is one thing, winning the conference championship is another, but the Super Bowl is the ultimate win.

Here is the reason Harbaugh made the change.  He knew that nothing matters more than getting the right player on the field and in the right position.

Jack Welch in his book Winning says he looked for three things in people he wanted to hire.

1. Integrity – truthful, dependable, authentic, and able to admit mistakes. Kaepernick does well here.

2. Intelligence – for Kaepernick he must be able to read defenses, understand complex looks on the defense,  be able to audible and call the right play, and keep on learning.

3. Maturity – think about it. He is on national TV, you will get behind at times in a game, there will be lots of stress, mistakes will be made, interceptions will be thrown, etc.

Soon after the change had been made the 49ers started the game with the ball, but Kaepernick threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown.  So right off the bat he throws a pick and the other team takes the lead.  How did he respond?  With integrity, he admitted his mistake.  With intelligence, he didn’t throw a pick after that one.  Maturity, he kept his head in the game and led the team on to a victory.

While this in no way indicates that the 49ers are a one man team, but it does illustrate the necessity of getting the right players onto the field if winning is the objective.