Lessons from the game

Did you watch the game yesterday? The NFC Championship game, of course. The NY Giants visited the frigid domain of the Green Bay Packers and came out with a win to go to the Super Bowl. The game was great but I don't want to talk about touchdowns. There was one play that holds a lesson for all those entrusted with getting the most out of other people.

The game is tied at 20 with only 7 or 8 minutes to play in the 4th quarter.

Try to imagine, for a second, what the conditions must have felt like. You are playing football against the biggest and fastest men in all of sports and they are hitting you and the temperature is -4. The ground is cement, the ball is a rock. The winner goes to the Super Bowl!

The Giants' drive is stalled at approximately the 25 yard line of the Packers. Time to kick the go ahead field goal and then hope to stop the Packers one more time. Into the game comes Lawrence Tynes. Just like every kicker on every NFL team, Tynes had to earn his position. He tried out for the team and was the very best kicker the Giants could find. The very best!

The rock is snapped and held and Tynes swings his leg through just like he has done thousands of times. But, this time the ball is not flying majestically through the golden uprights. This time, the ball that has become a rock in -4 degrees, is hurtling leftward - away from victory. The best kicker on the Giants has failed.

As Tynes walks off the field, his coach Tom Coughlin walks towards him with a menacing look. The weather has turned Coughlin's face into a reddish blob. While all of us watched, Coughlin proceeds to yell at his best kicker.

"Come on!" Coughlin slaps his game plan into his gloved hand. "Come on!" Tynes looks away as Coughlin continues to yell.

With 4 seconds to play in the 4th quarter, the Giants have the ball at the Packers 20 yard line and bring in Tynes to try what has become the sure game winner. The snap is a little high but the hold is good and the kick. Well, the kick is terrible. Far worse than the last one.

Coughlin hangs his head. No doubt he should have because the very best coach that the NY Giants could find has failed.

Managers are given or they recruit the very best players they can find. It's true in football and it's true in sales. Then, the managers are asked to get the best performance from those players. The key to doing that is to coach the players - always having them focus on their own behavior and performance during each interaction.

When managers yell at players and berate them in front of their teammates, whose behavior is the player focusing on? Of course, it is the coach.

After Tynes missed the second field goal, he was walking off the field looking at his shoes. A teammate, I don't know which one, caught up to him and put his arm around his shoulder and put his face close to the earhole in his helmet. The teammate said something - I don't know what. But, one could tell by the way the thoughts were delivered that the teammate was encouraging and empathetic.

A few minutes later in overtime, the Giants intercept the ball and drive to the Packers 30 yard line. In overtime, the team to score first wins. Onto the field walks Tynes to try a 47 yard field goal. The temperature is the same. The ball is still a rock. The winner still goes to the Super Bowl and the loser still goes home.

But now, the thoughts the very best kicker the Giants could find are different than last time. This time his thoughts are on what he must do to succeed.

And this time, he does.