The problem with Coach K’s “Next Play” philosophy

I’ve never been the type to slow down and smell the roses. But after 30+ years of triathlons, marathons, tennis, kayaking, open-water swimming and coaching baseball, the wear and tear on my body finally caught up. Step 1: Shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator, labrum and biceps tendon.

The physical therapy is going pretty well, but wearing a bulky sling 24/7, especially while sleeping, is pretty uncomfortable. Worse, it’s a constant reminder that I’m sitting on the sidelines, not in the game. Not only is there a big hole in my calendar, but with no scheduled workouts or competitions to prep for, goal setting has to be reconfigured—big time—and I have to find a new outlet for all the extra energy.

At first it took four times as long to shower, shave, get dressed and eat, let alone type a simple email or blog post. I’ve gotten that down to 3x normal and am shooting for 2x normal within next two weeks. Range of motion and the number of reps improves with each physical therapy session, so I jot that incremental progress down in my training log. At least it fills in the blanks where workouts and race results normally go and fools my brain into thinking I’m still training.

More on fooling your brain in a minute.

My wife’s been incredibly patient during this time. She’s always better at handling adversity than I am, and she’s certainly not doting on me. Her philosophy is basically: Suck it up, take your meds, do your PT and get on with your life. “At times like these, you can’t worry about what you can’t do. Just be thankful for what you can do,” she reminds me before going out for a run or hitting the tennis court.

Most of you on this distribution list are competitive Type A achievers. When life forces you to slow down, it can be a shock to the system. It makes you realize the lengths we go to every day to try to squeeze in one more assignment, one more Zoom call, one more client meeting or one more hour of work into an already overstuffed schedule.

I can’t tell you how many of you highly compensated professionals complain to me about “time famine” more than any other work issue. Being overscheduled may make you feel productive and valuable, but does it make you happy?

The problem with Coach K’s “Next Play” philosophy|

Legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, is a highly sought-after motivational speaker and business advisor. If you’ve ever watched a Duke game, you’ll hear him shouting “Next Play!” to his players throughout the game.

By that Coach K means you can’t spend your time dwelling on mistakes that you or a teammate just made. You have to shake them off and be 100% focused for the next play as your opponent brings the ball up the court.

“Next Play!” is a popular rallying cry in the business, sports and military worlds. I should know. I drank the (Gatorade-flavored) Kool-Aid for most of my adult life. But in the inevitable chase for NEXT PLAY, do we forget to celebrate our successes? Worse, do we forget to notice how much we’ve improved from earlier in the season? It’s hard to measure progress when you’re constantly obsessed about looking ahead.

Next time you read an obituary or visit a cemetery, tell me how many times you see the dearly departed eulogized as follows: “A wonderful and caring husband and father, who was always in the top 2% for billable hours”? Or “A generous and caring soul who always checked every item off his to-do list” or “A loving wife and grandmother who always answered every email in her inbox”? That’s right, never!

I don’t think I’ll ever adapt to a sedentary lifestyle, but I notice my concentration’s been a little sharper since the surgery since I’m no longer shoehorning workouts, meetings and competitions into an already packed work and family schedule.

In many ways the surgery has forced me to forget about multitasking since it’s so much more challenging to complete even the simplest tasks of daily life. And for those of you still slaves to the billable hour business model I encourage you to read our client Kyle Walters’ recent columns in Accounting Today: The 64/4 Rule and Can You Earn $10K Per Hour? I also recommend Robb Zbierski’s book: Master Your Mind, which will teach you how to slow down your runaway brain, so you can accomplish a lot more in less time.

Conclusion

The big takeaway from Walters and Zbierski: It’s not about how many hours you put in; it’s about what you put into those hours.

What’s your take? I’d like to hear from you.

#productivity, #resilience, #CoachK, #timefamine

At times like these, your clients need you more than ever. Are you anti fragile?

I’m not the most devout guy in the world. But on the eve of Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) and the 20^th anniversary of 9/11, it’s clear to me our resolved is being tested by a higher authority.

The COVID Delta variant continues to spread relentlessly. We’ve had horrific wildfires on the West Coast and record-setting flooding and continued power outages in the South and Northeast courtesy of Hurricane Ida. We finally admitted defeat in the 20-year Afghanistan conflict, the eviction moratorium has been lifted, women have been stripped of reproductive rights in Texas, inflation is resurfacing and the economy can’t get out of first gear due to a chronic shortage of workers and raw materials.

Whew!

Many of your clients (and employees) may be losing faith in the world and prone to reckless emotional decisions. And then there are there’s the Biden tax plan that’s likely to put a boa constrictor squeeze on affluent and successful people like your clients starting in 2022.

Bottom line: Your clients and team members need you more than ever.

Nietzsche famously said: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” To that end, our client @KyleWalters (L&H CPAs) wrote a great piece in Accounting Today about becoming anti-fragile. According to Walters, there are three types of financial advisors:

1. Fragile advisors:You are fragile if you avoid disorder and disruption for fear of the mess they might make of your life. You think you are keeping safe, but really you are making yourself vulnerable to the shock that will tear everything apart.2. Robust advisors:You are robust if you can stand up to shocks without flinching and without changing who you are.

   3. Anti-fragile advisors: You are anti-fragile if shocks and disruptions make you stronger and more creative, better able to adapt to each new challenge you face.

Which one would you rather be?

First, make sure you’re communicating with clients consistently and frequently. Our annual CPA/Wealth Advisor Confidence Survey shows that firms expecting double-digit or greater growth over the next 12 months, are twice as likely as firms expecting flat growth to contact their clients multiple times per month.

During these difficult and unsettling times, why not shine the spotlight on the positive things in life?
COVID vaccines—developed in record time–have proven undeniably effective at preventing the spread of the virus. The financial markets continue to set all time highs. Those who listened to their advisors and stayed fully invested during the dark early days of COVID are up roughly 100% since mid-March 2020. And real GDP growth in the U.S. is poised to grow at a very robust 7% annualized clip in Q3. But wait, there’s more.

As bad as the California wildfires have been, drones and other advanced technology have made tremendous strides in predictive modeling which have snuffed out numerous potential fires before they started. Re: flooding and hurricanes, the Post-Katrina levee system in New Orleans held throughout Ida and at least where I live in the Northeast, utility crews have been showing up several days BEFORE major storms hit to cut down vulnerable trees and limbs.

Conclusion

Whether you’re on the way to the beach, barbecue, ballgame or synagogue this weekend, let’s take a break from the gloom and doom headlines and celebrate our progress during a time of tremendous adversity and uncertainty. Your clients need you. Your team needs you. Your family needs you. Your community needs you.
As former heavyweight boxing champ, Mike Tyson, liked to say, “everyone has a plan till they get a punch in the mouth.” We’ve taken a few to the face to be sure. It’s up to you how quickly you get off the canvas and get back into the ring.

What’s your take? I’d like to hear from you.

#antifragile, #resilience, #antifragile, #practivemanagement, #staythecourse, #RothHashana