Winning Culture Wednesday
Winning Culture Wednesday
Why I also love a good meal
Good morning to ALL my readers (my mom got mad when she saw that I excluded three people yesterday. She said it was mean. I apologize to the two convicted felons and the minister who can’t talk to women on his own.)
I want to talk about good food and good company. Well, I want to talk about more than that, but that’s where I want to start.
Have you ever had a meal with someone in which maybe you weren’t sure going in about it, but once you went, you’re glad you did? Maybe it was a coworker. Maybe, it was happy hour. You just worked a shift like that Dolly Parton song, but you go anyway. You find out about your coworker just a little bit. You find you like them a little bit more. You learn about why they are annoying or why they eat what they eat for lunch when it stinks up the refrigerator in the break room.
I write all of this because I am fascinated with successful cultures. I read about self-obsessed leaders like Elizabeth Holmes or the WeWork guy who seem fascinated about their image but don’t care about their employees. Eventually, their employees revolt. Or they complain. Well, all employees complain. That’s natural. It’s why leaders can’t worry about being friends with their employees. Looking at you, Michael Scott.
I write all about this because I’m fascinated with the culture of the professional basketball team in San Antonio: the spurs.
Their leader, Gregg Popovich, is a wine-lover, liberal, USAFA graduate who trained to be a spy in the Cold War. Oh, and he seems to be a good leader who has built a dynasty in a professional league out of what of the league’s smallest markets. He is outspokenly liberal. His boss is outspokenly conservative. Some may say that is impossible. At SS&E, they thrive.
He is also famously short (rude?) with the media. I think it’s funny. Others don’t.
ESPN’s Baxter Holmes is one of my favorite long-form journalists even if he is a Sooner. I let him explain the rest. Hint: it involves long dinners even after losses.
One last sports quote from a coach I admire even if it didn’t end well. Mack Brown, besides having an all-time great name, was the head football coach of the flagship university of Texas. Sorry, Aggies. They had just played in the national championship in January 2006. They had just defeated the USC Trojans in what was the best game in all of college football history (and the only game the Longhorn Network can show.)
This was the pinnacle of college football. Not for Mack Brown. He said this to his 18-22-year-old players: