>Jon Gordon
You Win in the Locker Room First
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Copyright © 2015 by Jon Gordon and Mike Smith. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Gordon, Jon, 1971-
You win in the locker room first: 7 C's to build a winning team in sports, business and life / Jon Gordon, Mike Smith.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-119-15785-4 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-119-15786-1 (ebk);
ISBN 978-1-119-15787-8 (ebk)
1. Teams in the workplace. 2. Leadership. 3. Success. I. Title.
HD66.G6725 2015
658.4′ 022–dc23
2015024259
DEDICATION
INTRODUCTION
By Mike Smith
I've been a coach for 32 years and half of that time was in the NFL. I was on the staff of the Baltimore Ravens when we won the Super Bowl, and I was one play away from going to the Super Bowl as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. For five years we had the second most wins in the NFL – only Bill Belichick and the Patriots had more. I'm also a coach that was fired because during my last two seasons with the Falcons we only had 10 wins combined. Looking back, I can see clearly the difference between those first five seasons and the last two. I understand why we won and why we lost. In this book, Jon and I aim to help you build a winning team and avoid the mistakes made by too many leaders, including me. Jon and I often talk about the fact that success happens by focusing on the process, not the outcome. You win by cultivating the right culture, leadership, expectations, beliefs, mindset, relationships, and habits before you even play the game. You win in the locker room first. Then, you win on the field.
I've known Jon for over 10 years. We first met when I was the defensive coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars and our head athletic trainer Mike Ryan introduced us. Our team read his book The Energy Bus, and Jon spoke to our team during training camp. We had an incredible season, went to the playoffs, and beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh in the first round.
When I became the head coach for the Atlanta Falcons the next year, I knew I wanted to bring The Energy Bus and Jon to our team as well. I had all the guys read the book and Jon spoke to our team. We focused on implementing many of the principles in this book. We went from a losing record of 4 and 12 to 11 and 5 and we made it to the playoffs. I'll tell you more about that turnaround in a little bit, but for now it's important for you to know that Jon and I have spent eight training camps together and each year we have talked about using the seven C's to build a great team and win in the locker room first. I have my favorite C's and Jon has his.
Since Jon and I first began working together, he has also helped countless teams in the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NCAA. He has had the luxury of seeing what other coaches do to build their teams and has amassed a ton of knowledge and best practices. He became very passionate about his C's and I grew confident about my own favorites since I had seen the impact firsthand. Jon and I would often debate about which were most important.
After my last year with the Falcons and seeing what happened to our culture the last two seasons compared to the first five seasons, we know without a doubt that winning in the locker room begins foremost with culture. So let's start there. Jon and I will share what we know about building winning teams and we truly hope it helps you develop and grow your team.
CHAPTER 1
CULTURE
Culture drives expectations and beliefs; expectations and beliefs drive behavior; behavior drives habits; and habits create the future. It all starts with culture.
Create a Winning Culture
Mike Smith
In January of 2008 I was hired as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Most of the time when head coaches are hired, they are not coming into a very good or stable situation. It is not
