Coaching for Success: Lou Holtz on Establishing Meaningful Relationships
I have an awful confession to make: I'm not a football fan, and -- until this morning -- I had no idea who Lou Holtz was. To remedy this sad state of ignorance before attending the Entrepreneurial Excellence Series presentation on Establishing a Meaningful Relationship with People, I checked the Lou Holtz entry in Wikipedia and discovered that he's the only coach in NCAA history to lead six different programs to bowl games and the only coach to guide four different programs to final top 20 rankings.
In a little over an hour, with homespun stories and self-deprecating humor, Holtz told a packed room what he lives by and believes in. The principles that have led his teams to victory work just as well to help people succeed outside the sports world.
Establishing a meaningul relationship with people, he says, is a matter of five lessons:
1. Choose to have a positive attitude. Holtz explained that you can succeed when no one believes in you -- but that there's no chance of success if you don't believe in yourself. If you're too busy seeing the negatives, you not only miss opportunities for success, you also fail to be fair to the people around you. The bottom line: what you do is determined by your motivation, but how well you do is determined by your attitude.
2. Have the passion to win. It requires sacrifice ("losers call it punishment," said Holtz). This translates into preparation and an understanding of purpose. The passion to win is what motivates people to get rid of their excuses, be disciplined, and focus on goals.
3. Focus on your purpose. Holtz explained that distraction is counterproductive; people should look for the simple solution. A special message for REALTORS® is to let people know you're there to help them and have the expertise to do so. Focusing on purpose involves a willingness to embrace change if that will satisfy customers' needs.
4. Be a dreamer. This, said Holtz, is the most important lesson of all. Set goals, understand what's important now -- but never stop dreaming, no matter how successful you are.
5. Establish meaningful relationships. Doing this hinges on having great faith in yourself and living by three rules: always doing the right thing, doing the best you can, and showing people you care.
According to Holtz, it all comes down to three questions that everyone wants to know about you:
Can I trust you?
Are you committed to excellence?
Do you genuinely care about me?
If the answer to each question is yes, you're on the road to success. He held up REALTORS® as embodying all three.
At the start of his talk, Holtz joked that he's one of the few people who's written more books than he's read. If you missed the session -- or if you want to get more Holtz -- his books are available in the NAR library:
Winning Every Day: A Game Plan for Success
Comments
THAT WAS A GREAT SEMINAR.
Posted by: Peggy Yanuzzelli | November 23, 2007 01:01 PM
It is nice to hear someone speak with such character, integrity and spirit. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about having a dream and the power of purpose and focus. What a guy!
Posted by: Gail Weldon | November 24, 2007 06:32 PM