Finny's Fight

On March 20th, 2009, Coach Craig Finberg lost his battle with cancer. He was 51.


After realizing he wasn't built for running, he tried out for the basketball team. Despite his size he made the team and went on to be Montana State University's 7th highest all time scorer (1473 points). He chose to "extend" his basketball career by becoming the coach at Beaverhead County High School. He coached for 18 years.

Like any Good Coach, he improved the lives of those he spent time with; and his inspiration touched those he never met.

My fourth son, Finn, arrived at the Beaverhead County High School nervous but ready for his first wrestling tournament of the season. During one of the first practices of the season he rolled his foot and received what turns out to be a very common break in young athletes, called by our Pediatrist a "Jones Break".

Finn would spend the next four weeks watching practice from the sidelines, not allowed to do anything more than a little upper-body weight training until his foot was well enough to take off the protective "boot".

Not entirely heeled, his doctor showed Finn how to pad and wrap his foot so that he could practice and, if there was no serious discomfort, compete in the last two tournatments of the season (his first as a Middle School Wrestler).

Upon entering the gymnasium, my son was drawn to flags that hung everywhere honoring "Finny's Fight". Unaware of the coach with the similar name who was in a cancer battle he'd lose just a few days later, the signs encouraged my boy. He knew they weren't for him; no one in the small town of Dillon, Montana, would have ever heard of the boy from the only slightly bigger town of Bozeman. But still the signs took the edge off. He said his foot was "a bit tired", but he was inspired by someone he didn't know to not give up.

And he didn't.

In what was one of the most exciting matches of the day, Finn found himself wrestling for his weight's Championship in double overtime. With the clock rapidly winding down, a Jordan-esque look of determination washed over his face, extinguishing the fatigue.

Mustering all of his remaining strength, Finn threw the Head-and-Arm; not a complicated move, but one that only works at this level of wrestling if you have more strength available than your opponent. Take down; 2 points - Finn wins.

Fifteen minutes later his older brother handily one his Championship match, scoring all of the points awarded. When I asked Ty about it later he said: "after watching my little brother win, there was no way I was going to ride all the way home having to listen to that over and over again unless I won too".

Coach Finberg, through his commitment and dedication, has inspired people who've never been coached by him, who've never met him. Those people, in turn, have inspired others.

On Sunday, March 29th, friends, family, faculty and players past and present, gathered at the High School Gymnasium for a ceremony honoring Coach Finberg which concluded with the facility being renamed after Finny.

For those of you that have worked so hard to create a business, have you created an exit plan? Will your blood, sweat and tears live on to inspire and employ others, or will it die with your exit?

Whether your exit is in one year or thirty, you need to have a plan. Groom a successor; create a corporate identity that can stand separately from your own; get that stuff that's locked deep in your brain, the stuff that only you know, onto paper. A legacy that dies with you is dead; a dream that you release on its own can live forever.

Double Coverage

In the First Round of Playoffs, CBS had assumed the dubious task of trying to show all 32 games on one station. The first half of the day went fine, but then as the night wore one two games simultaneously went into overtime. Siena vs. Ohio State and Wisconsin vs. Florida State. What was CBS to do?

Both games were phenomenal to watch, both upsets (at least as far as my bracket was concerned); scores back and forth; time outs; last second shots . . .

I'm not even a huge basketball fan, but there I was, riveted. The directors at CBS were jumping from one game to the next; but not jumping, gliding. It was almost seamless. The entire country got to see both games at the same time; worried I'd miss a crucial moment, instead I felt like I had two TVs in my home. Heck, if I did have two TVs I would have missed more of each game than CBS gave me.

After watching Olympic coverage get worse every year, this was a miracle on the hardwood. Fan or no, you've got to respect how CBS handled the situation. They covered two games, in overtime, at the same time, giving we the customer a great product.

The economy is tough right now, a lot of companies are laying people off, not as in years past to suddenly boost company profits and value, but to survive. But the key shouldn't be just survival; companies need to still play to win. While making those tough decisions about who to keep and whom to let go, businesses need to not forget the value of keeping "the right people on the bus". Sooner or later money will flow again. If you don't have the right people directing the show, instead of delivering an amazing product, you're going to look unfocused and like you can't handle the coverage.

March Madness

Even if you're not a huge Basketball Fan, being out of the loop on the Largest Sports Playoff in America is a little like not having heard of Simon Cowell (and the similarities between March Madness and American Idol don't stop there).

I always go into the Division 1 Men's College Basketball Playoffs more ignorant than I'd like. I get into the spirit of the competition, catching about as many of the playoff games as I do Olympic events (trying to catch the Big Ones and the Ones that are being billed as Great Contests), but I get so busy with Wrestling ending and Little League Baseball starting that my friends usually treat my bracket picks as either a good laugh or frankly a little bit sad (how could "Coach" Dave be so ignorant?).

Well you can't be an expert on everything; maybe they'll realize that when their boys are old enough to be in sports year 'round . . .

But the NCAA is doing something this year that I think is a brilliant marketing move. They're trying to capture audience and market share by broadcasting ALL LIVE GAMES on their website FOR FREE.

Check it out at NCAA.com

What lessons can business owners learn from this aggressive give away?

When times get tough, even if you're the biggest game in town, you still have to get your name out there. Now is the time to increase your market share through Networking, Advertising, and Product Placement.

Too many companies react to tough economic times by RAISING their prices, trying to make up for the drop in volume by increasing what they charge. That is like pulling the plug too early on a patient destined to recover. When this recession is all over, only the Champions will be left standing; those will be the companies that leave it all on the court.

For more information on March Madness, check out:

http://www.ncaamarchmadness2009.com/

and

http://mmod.ncaa.com/?source=mktg_09MMOD_SEg_MMOD4



And while you're at it, don't forget to tune in to see Coach Dave Johnston make his Webisode debut as "the coach" on Heckle U at CBS.com

Eliminating the Distractions

It's the last Wrestling night of the season for Bozeman's Little Hawks (1st through 5th grade). My third grader is soon to be for his first match; all four of his older brothers are volunteering as table workers and referees on other mats to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Since these guys are all from the same group, mostly, there are no coaches mat-side. Just the occasional dad. I've coached this particular son in two of these previous year-end extravaganzas, and been his baseball and football coach since he was six. It's almost his turn and my wife nudges me: "you better get over there; he's almost up".

I casually walk to the far side of the gym. Not every dad is as competitive as I am, and some who are just in this for the "fun of participating" (which I've always thought was politically-correct BS) may resent my active participation in my own child's success.

I kneel on the floor at a distance that I hope looks more like I'm spectating and cheering than actually coaching. The current match is almost over; my boy's turn is coming up. I call him to me.

I begin going over our strategy for this first opponent. Three sentences in he hold up his hand to stop me.

"Papa, Finn (his next older brother) says not to have you coach me. He says you're a distraction. I can do this on my own. You should go sit back down by Mama."

What do I say?

"OK, buddy. Good luck!"

I'm hurt, but a little impressed. When I explain to my wife and friends what he said they all laugh; no one harder than my friend who's same-age son just gave him the identical speech. (Did they cover this in practice?)

My boy wins his first match by pinning his opponent in under 25 seconds. Take down, half-nelson, roll him over, scoop the head. He's never wrestled this well! His second match goes the same way, almost scripted.

And that's it. My days of mat-coach are over. He's got a gold medal and I'm totally unneeded. He's outgrown me (at least in this capacity). He's worked hard and deserves the credit.

Too often at work managers get over-involved. Some places it's called micro-managing. They worry that without their input the poo's going to hit the fan; or worse, that it won't. If an employee succeeds without them, then they worry that they'll be identified as unnecessary instead of receiving the credit for the training, supervision, and help they've given to this success story. And, in too many cases, they're right.

The key is to take your time that is freed by independent and successful employees and make yourself valuable in other ways. The best choice is to go learn how to do your boss's job. If you're at the top of the ladder, improve your skills, increase your client base, turn your attention to other ways to grow the company and improve the other, weaker links.

Don't throw a pity party and don't become the distraction that keeps others from succeeding. Instead look for new opportunities; new wrestlers to coach.

On Any Given Saturday . . .

As our family transitions from Wrestling into Baseball and Track (we never transition OUT of Ballet - it goes all year) and I find myself gathering the notes for the next book, there are certain principles that Wrestling makes clearer than any other sport.

In Football we talk about "On Any Given Sunday" which, for you new fans, means that because of the complexity of the game and the variety of things (from weather to injuries to what the team ate) that can impact the outcome, any team has the chance to beat any other team "On Any Given Sunday".

That principle holds true in Wrestling as well. Any given tournament or dual any wrestler can beat any other wrestler. Sure, there are tactical advantages of Strength vs. Weight, and Skill level should never be discredited, but each wrestler needs to remember that he can beat his opponent, even if he's lost to him many times before.

Perhaps the most physical sport ever, the slightest change in physicality can make the difference. Did he slack in practice this week? Eat too much? Eat too little? Tweak his ankle on the walk over to the mat? Is he catching the latest flu bug?

Wrestling is also a thinking man's game; you're mind has got to be alert, you must have your head in the game or the risk of making a simple but costly mistake goes up exponentially. Did his girlfriend dump him? Are mom and dad angry? Is this guy better than I am?

Those and other issues floating around in an unfocused wrestler's head can force even the most experienced athlete to stick an arm or a leg in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In a sport where the score can turn in a second and a loss measured by increments of an inch, the best wrestlers are those that are both physically and mentally prepared, but even the best guys can get beat On Any Given Saturday.

In business, if we get caught thinking that there is no competition, if we fail to stay mentally alert and in the best shape possible, we're asking to get beat. We need to continuously train to be the best we are at what we do. Classes, Continuing Education Credits, Seminars, and personal study of our chosen vocation should never be brushed aside simply because we're "too busy".

We also need to keep ourselves and our staffs in good physical condition. Literally. Don't overwork your people! No client should be expected to understand poor customer service on the basis that your front line employees and sales people are overfed or under rested. True, you don't have the control over their time away from the workplace, but you can find ways to award those that are timely, well prepared, and have sharp minds and positive attitudes.

If we learn one more lesson from the On Any Given Saturday principle let it be this: just because we lost this match, that doesn't mean that we can't train harder, renew our focus, and win next time.

Too Much at One Time

Little League Baseball Sign ups were this last weekend in my hometown. I missed them because my wife and I were running brackets at a local wrestling tournament. When I went by the sporting goods store to drop the boy's applications off I ran into another "wrestling parent".

"Signing up for baseball?" she asked.

"Yeah, you?"

"No, we've got club wrestling until July, and it's just to much to do both. We tried one year, and it was too hard".

Smart woman.

We want our kids to be happy, healthy, and successful. We try to afford them every opportunity, and all too often convince ourselves that means that we need to schedule their lives as much as we schedule ours.

We're not doing them any favors. Twelve year-olds should not be "burning out"!

I absolutely advocate keeping kids busy. My oldest daughter has dance year-round so she does pretty well, but those few days between sports see my boys climbing the walls, too much sugar and energy to burn just at school and scouts. So every season we require that they sign up for something, anything. However, parents who have their kids in music and karate and swing dancing and soccer and baseball and track and science club all at the same time need to turn off the "living vicariously" button for a while; give your child some opportunities to be a kid. The memories we have of our prowess in one sport or another, our "hoop dreams" of ultimate success, while great for us, may not be the best choice for our children. Pick something that works for them, for their talents and skills. That may mean more than one thing a year, but try to not let it mean "many things at the same time". We need to not let our sentimentality overdrive the decisions for our children.

In these slow economic times, are we over-scheduling ourselves? Particularly with things that aren't that important?

We need to work hard and stay focused on our priorities (I know one father who misses an awful lot of work because his children's activities come before his job). It's tempting to diversify to try and capture a larger market share, something I wholeheartedly endorse, but make sure that the new markets you try and the new business ideas you have fit in with the overall play UNLESS you're ready to dump the old business plan and move on. Closing a bad business is a good idea, but if you're going to do it, do it now. Don't let sentimentality drag on the inevitable until it becomes too late.