The tag­line for my book, “The Art of Losing” is as follows; Coaching and Thriving in a Made-­for-­TV World. It would be difficult to find an activity that isn’t, in some way, influenced by television.
Not that anyone cares what I think, I am continually questioning how we have arrived in today’s world with two practices that are appalling to me; 1. contract re­negotiations and 2. mid­season firings. The source of these is much closer to being the same thing than you might think. Let’s look at re­negotiation first.
The rise of salaries is mind­boggling. It seems to me that ownership has shot themselves in the foot or someplace even more damaging. Where were those athletes going to play if ownership refused to re­negotiate? NFL football, NBA basketball and Major League baseball are the only shows in town. Seen by some as a monopoly.
Original contracts were signed in good faith. Both parties gave their word to give 100% effort to the enterprise. Now, because they heard someone else signed for more money or whatever the reason might be, their word doesn’t mean anything. You’re now in the world of keeping agreements as long as the circumstances seem favorable. Circumstances rule. Now, they can play hard again, they say. Results won’t change much if at all. Then there is the matter of guaranteed contracts which we can discuss another time (Bad Idea).

The dumbest thing ever is mid­season firings. Those are primarily driven by one thing … someone wants to “look good.” The fan base is disgruntled, so the decision makers get to look as if they are doing something. Given the results produced are rarely if ever improved, nothing actually happened. The new guy or gal coming in, inherits the same mess.
What happened to “we are in this together?” Let’s sit down together and figure out what we can do. By the way, you fans should not be smug about how your world is working because you have the same thing going on in your organization. Everyone talks “team.” The bottom line for championship teams is “Everyone makes it.” If everyone doesn’t make it we all fail. Every casualty is a team failure.

Check out The Art of Losing in the coaching bookstore. Leading a team is a task worth doing well.