Cubs Manager Joe Maddon came up with a plan before the season that every member of the team needed to buy into, they did and ended up as World Series Champions. Here are the 8 steps he came up with.
- Embrace the Target
Everybody is talking about the pressure and the expectations, that we were the team to beat, and I thought, ‘Well, we better embrace our position rather than run away from it.’
- We All Have to Set Aside Our Personal Agendas be flexible, placing the team goals above their individual objectives. Maddon moves his players around the field more than any other manage
- All Do Our Jobs
This follows closely with #2. Maddon says:
Your position may change, or you might be called on to start when you’ve been sitting on the bench for a week.
- Know We Are Not Perfect Mistakes happen. Errors are inevitable. But we have to embrace the imprecations and failures. Playing it safe (avoiding mistakes) usually leads to mediocrity.
- We Are Our Own Little Planet and
- Rotate Around Same Goal
The Cubs bought into these dual concepts from the start.
- Do Simple Better
Maddon wants his players to reduce the game to its essence. He goes out of his way to make it easy for his players to react and have fun. Players who thinks too much become tense and performance suffers.
- The Process Is Fearless
There are four short definitions underneath the header to explain The Process:
- It lacks emotions
- It’s the moment
- It’s the mental anchor
- It simplifies the task.
In other words: Don’t think. Play.
