The one who understands you completely is the one hoping you break first. You hold the gaze anyway. I learned that young, between the goalposts, the way you learn the things that last.
Great piece. As an athlete and coach myself, this resonated with me. I've built a whole course for students that offers these kinds of life and leaderships lessons we learn from sports if you or anyone else is interested: https://www.english-champion.com/sportsliterature
The keeper metaphor resonates deeply across sectors — I've lead an enrollment marketing agency serving higher ed for 25 years, so we currently sit at the intersection of two industries facing real disruption right now. The visibility that comes with the CEO role, seeing the whole field, calling the run before anyone else sees it, absorbing the friction until it looks like foresight — that's the job.
And you're right that it's isolating in a way that's hard to explain to the ten in front of you.
The best leaders I know grew up playing team sports. There's something forged there that no leadership curriculum replicates. Grateful you put this into words.
Thanks for this. Twenty five years at the intersection of two industries getting disrupted at once, you have been reading runs nobody else could see for a long time. You get it from the inside.
You hit on something I actually cut from the piece for length. The team sport thing is real. You learn young that you can do everything right and still get scored on, and the only thing that matters is what you do on the next play. No classroom teaches that. The field does.
Agreed. And it’s better to learn those lessons and how to respond to them when you are early in your career. These lessons improve the rest of your life (and performance).
Great piece. As an athlete and coach myself, this resonated with me. I've built a whole course for students that offers these kinds of life and leaderships lessons we learn from sports if you or anyone else is interested: https://www.english-champion.com/sportsliterature
Thanks! I will give it a read.
The keeper metaphor resonates deeply across sectors — I've lead an enrollment marketing agency serving higher ed for 25 years, so we currently sit at the intersection of two industries facing real disruption right now. The visibility that comes with the CEO role, seeing the whole field, calling the run before anyone else sees it, absorbing the friction until it looks like foresight — that's the job.
And you're right that it's isolating in a way that's hard to explain to the ten in front of you.
The best leaders I know grew up playing team sports. There's something forged there that no leadership curriculum replicates. Grateful you put this into words.
Thanks for this. Twenty five years at the intersection of two industries getting disrupted at once, you have been reading runs nobody else could see for a long time. You get it from the inside.
You hit on something I actually cut from the piece for length. The team sport thing is real. You learn young that you can do everything right and still get scored on, and the only thing that matters is what you do on the next play. No classroom teaches that. The field does.
Agreed. And it’s better to learn those lessons and how to respond to them when you are early in your career. These lessons improve the rest of your life (and performance).