Coach Vince Lombardi's - Winning Ways Still Resonate in Business and Academia

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The full text of “Coach Vince Lombardi's - Winning Ways Still Resonate in Business and Academia” by Al Bruno, Writer and teacher, from the Vol 1 — Summer 2018 issue.

Lombardi’s Memorable Words and Spirit are Still Felt in 2018 In 2018, Lombardi’s spirit still resonates throughout the American landscape like a shepherd gathering his flock, moving purposefully to their next destination. The football flock organizes and huddles together, recognizing one and only one distinct voice that leads them to grassy fields where replenishment is a staple of life.

That intense voice, the forceful voice of Lombardi, commands a certain respect that few have been able to wield in those football fields of opportunity. Respectfully, many have called Lombardi the patron saint of the NFL: Lombardi has become the embodiment of everything what was once good about sports and the eternal values of competition.

The mere mention of his name brings to mind and celebrates such qualities as character, courage, and sacrifice in schools and colleges, corporations, and sporting organizations (from Pop Warner Football Programs through the professional ranks). Lombardi has influenced and touched virtually every sector of the American society, instilling confidence and demanding excellence from its participants in the quest for winning.

The Lombardi name is a summoning, a call-to-arms, and a call for discipline, effort, and most of all – winning. Lombardi has become synonymous with winning in America. That is why Lombardi remains a symbol of what was once great about the NFL and, perhaps, is no longer; but, he still keeps appearing in education, sports, and in business and corporate formulas for success and winning. Lombardi is exemplary because he was ahead of his time with his approach to winning and leadership.

To realize those ends, he instilled character-building in his players, and character-building meant working hard on the basics by drilling through repetitions, chasing perfection and settling for excellence in the Ways Still demia C oach Vince Lombardi is regarded by most as the greatest NFL Coach of all time.

His winning record and five championships (including the first two Super Bowls) with the Green Bay Packers are still unmatched and unparalleled almost 46 years after his untimely death in 1970, earning him recognition as “Coach of the Century” by ESPN in 2000. Lombardi helped the men he coached succeed in getting the most of their Godgiven abilities better than any other coach in NFL history.

He brought them pride and victory, and his legacy of perseverance, hard work, and dedication remain the staples of success for any worthwhile human endeavor to this very day. Lombardi was more than a football coach; he was a great leader in any forum for all-time, and that is why he is still remembered and quoted so much so that the NFL’s most coveted, team award, that is the Super Bowl trophy, bears his name (i.e., The Vince Lombardi Trophy).

Many herald Vince Lombardi as the patron saint of NFL: what reverence for a great coach and leader. Lombardi is now the classic, winning model from which other coaches and leaders are and will be measured against in effectively assessing successful coaching and leadership in any goal-oriented, forward-thinking organization. by Al Bruno

14 process. Emphasis on the basics certainly applies today in almost everything; many are calling for a return-to-the-basics, even in retail technology.

Dan Scheraga, in Chain Store Age (2004), credits Lombardi about the importance of the basics: “Lombardi’s lesson is applicable to IT, too… I’m telling you again, because Lombardi was right: The basics are crucial, and too often, they aren’t emphasized enough.” Observably, Lombardi’s leadership model is present in today’s, retail technology industry as portrayed by the points made by Scheraga (2004).

In the corporate world, as well, Lombardi is often mentioned in the same sentence with excellence; Ben Rothke in eWeek (2003), writes: “If Lombardi were a chief information security officer today, he would be relentless in pursing quality; excellence; the understanding of risk. Chief security officers today cannot find a better role model.” The Lombardi legacy centers on a commitment to excellence and character-building in leaders and organizations.

Chasing perfection was an everyday practice for the Lombardi in search of excellence: Lombardi was relentless and pushed the winning agenda on his players; that was first and the Lombardi way. Kenny Rathledge, in Coach and Athletic Director (2001), writes in detail: “The term that suited him best was perfectionist. He made harsh demands on his players to prepare them for the harsher demands of the game. He felt that every fiber in your body should be used in pursuit of excellence.

Lombardi would not tolerate excuses or compromises. He was interested only in results. He taught his players that success and winning are habits. To play for him, you had to be mentally tough.” Lombardi’s emphasis on teaching the basics to near, perfect execution meant excellence, and excellence cultivates a winning attitude and winning teams.

He was a great motivator, too; Andrew Singer, in Across the Board (2000), writes: “Regarding motivation, Lombardi was a master, and here again his example is relevant to business. All things being equal, a manager who can engender trust and loyalty from subordinates will reap a higher performance over time.” Lombardi accomplished the arduous task of motivating his players by actively demonstrating motivation and commitment to his players with his tremendous energy and preparation during practices and meetings.

He paid the price, and as a matter of fact, Lombardi, too, dealt with adversity and hostility among his players. He was discerning and fair, and, then, he made the necessary adjustments. Porter Crow, in Vital Speeches of the Day (1972), recalls: “How do you think a hater could be used in football? As a linebacker! That’s right; so Lombardi made that kind of assignment for hostile men. Jesus, too, used hostility…Hostility can be used in a positive way.

Lombardi turned haters into linebackers and he turned lovers into split ends and quarterbacks.” Lombardi knew football, but more importantly, Lombardi knew how to use individual talents for the greater good of the team, harnessing the players strengths while directing a winning project; however, there are the Lombardi detractors out there still condemning the man for placing winning first, above all. Pete Hamill, in Literary Cavalcade (2000), writes: “Winning isn’t everything,” Lombardi declared.

“It’s the only thing.” Winning isn’t the only thing in love, art, marriage, commerce, or politics; it not even the only in sports…The true athlete teaches us that winning isn’t everything, but struggle is – the struggle to simply get up in the morning or to see hope through mine fields of despair.” It is true that Lombardi believed in winning, first and foremost, but there was a compassionate side of him, even for the loser. Lombardi speaks

15 to losing: “In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail” (vincelombardi.com). Although remembered and revered most for winning, Lombardi had a sense of balance and realized that every game could not be won. It has been nearly 48 years since his untimely death, and Lombardi still exudes an exemplary character-in-action by emphasizing the basics, insisting on hard-working team members, and winning with consistency on the battlefield. Success has a price, and Lombardi understood that clearly.

Looking at Lombardi objectively, James Bowman in National Review (1999), writes: “It was the real Lombardi, the very essence of the man and the means by which he transformed himself into the myth. Like the rest of us, Lombardi had his faults, but unlike the rest of us, his faults were also his virtues, and the reasons we remember and admire him so long after his death.” The reality is that Lombardi has withstood the test of time with most, who remember him, admiring and still emulating his winning ways.

One such person is Dr. Linda Casser, optometrist and associate dean for academic programs at the Pacific University College, in Forest Grove, Oregon. Jane Haseldine, in Review of Optometry (2003), writes about Dr. Casser, the academician, who lives by Lombardi: “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor. Appropriate words for this Wisconsin native to have framed in her office at Pacific University College...

Throughout her 25-year career in academic life, Casser has committed her life to the pursuit of that philosophy.” Living and striving in the Lombardi way is a noble undertaking, and Dr. Casser is a great example how the enduring, Lombardi philosophy for leading and winning continues to positively affect people he has touched in some way. The Lombardi legacy seems to be mentioned every time someone discusses great leadership.

Richard Weingardt (2000) emphasizes that creating a strong lasting legacy as a strong leaders can help make the world a better place; Weingardt, in Journal of Management in Engineering (2000), specifically writes about Lombardi’s greatness as a leader: “Look at Vince Lombardi’s astonishing turnaround of the Green Bay Packers in the early 1960s.

He took unmotivated, undisciplined, and underperformers, got them fit physically and mentally, and turned them into world champions in less than three years…Effective leaders identify opportunities; they have a vision that others will embrace and rally around.” Great leaders are visionaries, and Lombardi was certainly a visionary, a leader, a winner, a remarkable character, and much, much more.

Lombardi was right about the importance of building character from within among the players and, then, tying it to the team vision for winning. The Lombardi leadership model still shows today’s leaders that leading is embedded in visions for success; therefore, following the Lombardi line of thinking, cultivating character from within the organization enlists member commitment to those visions. Leadership without vision is leadership not at all, according to Lombardi logic.

Lombardi’s emphasis on character building was complemented by a strong sense of integrity; he was a square shooter, fair, and a moral leader as well. Donald Phillips, in his 2001 book, Run To Win, sums up Lombardi and his contributions to leadership and society: “He was able to combine a caring and compassionate nature with an enviable ability to get things done. Lombardi had heart – and he had goals that went beyond the game of football.

“Integrity is the most priceless thing you possess,” he lectured his players. Vince Lombardi’s principles, his style, and the way he lived his life can be employed as a sterling model for effective leadership in any organization – football, business, and beyond.”

Football was Lombardi’s laboratory, but he was concerned about moral growth, national leadership, and the challenges ahead; Donald Phillips (2001) writes: “The test of this century will be whether man mistakes the growth of wealth and power with the growth of spirit and character…Our country needs people who will keep their heads in emergencies; in other words, leaders who will meet the intricate problems with wisdom and courage.” Relevantly, Lombardi was speaking to a calling for great leaders for a society, he hoped, not to be overtaken by greed and wealth.

Lombardi was a character man, and greed and excesses were deeply disturbing to him, especially in the late 1960s; understandably, he was liberal on issues concerning the needy and on issue of social justice, and he was taking an opportunity through his celebrity to comment on the social issues of the day, specifically the youth countermovement and their rebellious, anti-establishment agenda, as he saw it.

Lombardi’s plea for better leadership and for a better society suddenly ended when he was admitted to Georgetown Hospital in June 1970 and died (way before his time) of colon cancer on September 3, 1970, at age 57: a battle even the great Lombardi could not win. Lombardi did not lose; he simply ran out of time.

The ones Lombardi was closest to, his immediate family and the Green Bay family of players, spoke of the loss of Lombardi; Donald Phillips (2001) writes: “He’s the greatest coach I every played under,” said Paul Hornung. “I would have gone through a wall for that guy.” Most players immediately realized what they had lost – and despaired of ever seeing the likes of it again...To some, Lombardi was a father teaching his sons.

Bart Starr said of Lombardi, “I owe my life to that man.” Lombardi nurtured something special in the lives he touched. Certainly, he demanded character people committed to excellence; that is as basic and as dedicated a leader must be in creating a winning organization like Lombardi did in Green Bay. Nowadays in 2018, Lombardi remains special, and so many leaders, coaches, and teachers try to live a vibrant, Lombardi-like life by giving it their best in the things that mean the most.

The Lombardi legacy still compels people to be hard working and disciplined in achieving worthwhile goals in life. That is so Lombardi. Undeniably, the spirit of Lombardi seems to be everywhere? When there is a special call for decisive action, Lombardi is there, but could Lombardi make it now? David Maraniss sheds some light about Lombardi in the modern context, almost 48 years after his death.

Maraniss, in his 1997 book, When Pride Still Mattered, insightfully writes about what Lombardi would be like in today’s NFL: “Some go searching for the Old Man (Lombardi) out of a sense of longing for something they believe has been irretrievably lost. What would Lombardi do about this? Why isn’t there anyone like the Old Man out there anymore?

Lombardi’s football philosophy relied on adaptability above all else, reacting to conditions quickly enough to bend things his way.” Along the same lines, poignantly, then, what would Lombardi think of the outlandish and excessive showboating by NFL players during games?

Maraniss (1997) further writes about Lombardi’s response: “When Travis Williams, the exhilarating kickoff return man on his 1967 team, danced a jig after scoring a touchdown that year, a modest ancestor of the elaborate celebrations so common now, the Old Man called him over and appealed to Williams’s pride. “Travis,” he said, “try to act like you’ve been there before.” That was all he had to say.

It reinforced the message he gave to his players at the beginning of training camp: You are the Packers, you are professionals, you are above the rest.” Lombardi handled the matter in a direct yet appropriate manner, and he sent the message about unnecessary celebrating and showboating. At the beginning of training camp, Lombardi probably would have given his players a collective talk about

17 the importance of character and professionalism, even after scoring thrilling touchdowns. In addition, he probably would have fined players a substantial amount for celebrating touchdowns and going against Lombardi’s policy on proper conduct. Obediently, like good boy scouts, the players would have exhibited exemplary behavior on-the-field because they are Lombardi’s boys; they fear Lombardi’s disapproval and, therefore, do not want to fall from his grace, subjecting themselves to the wrath of Lombardi.

Again, the football flock recognized the distinct voice of its shepherd, its leader, its provider, and Lombardi knew the way and naturally led the way to phenomenal winning in Green Bay. While playing with the Packers, Jerry Kramer said of Lombardi: “We knew that the only difference between being a good football team and a great football team was him and only him” (Phillips, 2001). Kramer and the Packer players were right: Lombardi was the way to winning and winning often.

Final Thoughts About Lombardi’s Legacy The lasting legacy of Lombardi is a direct measure of the extraordinary life he lived as a great coach and great leader. Mention the name, Lombardi, and so many hear the calling, the call for the football master of all-time. A call for Lombardi translates into serious readiness for hard work, discipline, and a commitment to excellence.

Above all, Lombardi represents the winning formula for any goal-oriented organization, promoting character-building at the very core of its existence. Just look at the Green Bay Packers of the 1960s, and the evidence is abundantly clear; the Green Bay Packers of Lombardi are the greatest dynasty in NFL history not because they won more consistently than any other team (in NFL history), but because they won with phenomenal success with the same players and the same coach.

They were bonded together by their enduring respect for Lombardi and their belief in each other: Their winning ways were Lombardi greatness. No NFL coach has ever experienced such reverence because Lombardi’s will, his character-in-action, transformed average players into good men, achievers, and winners. The Lombardi myth has now become the property of American posterity to appreciate and emulate.

From the distance of decades, the spirit of Lombardi as a maker of men continues to flourish in today’s, competitive world. The name, Lombardi, is exhorted as an inspirational force in untold corporate board rooms, in sales meetings, in political rallies, and even at an occasional, Sunday sermon. A symbol for character, courage, and sacrifice, Lombardi remains, even with his passing, the sports ego, the will to win, of American consciousness. Celebrating Lombardi is to celebrate winning and achievement in America.

Therefore, remembering the Lombardi legacy is really an act of instilling confidence and faith in doing our best with what God gave us: Who could ask for more? That is why Lombardi was recently revered as “The ESPN Coach of the Century.”