Book Review: The Fearless Mind

Book Review: The Fearless Mind

Author: Craig Manning, PhD

I heard about this book when the author, Craig Manning was interviewed on a local sports radio program. During the interview he discussed confidence and how an athlete can build and maintain confidence to help improve performance even during the most stressful moments. I liked what he heard and decided I wanted to read the book.

I was especially intrigued by how he descried sports, business and life in general as a performance. According to Manning, “,,, many of us, when asked to perform, are overcome by fear. We lose our confidence and allow our insecurities to hinder us.”

In the book. Manning shares the 5 essential steps to higher performance. Manning believes that by following these 5 steps we can channel our attention to focus on the task at hand and not on what might go wrong. That we can play the game to win, instead of playing not to lose and that we can build the mental power to make our dreams come true.

The 5 steps are:

• Motivation
• Anxiety
• Concentration
• Confidence
• Decision Making

Each of these steps is broken into individual chapters where Manning elaborates on and teaches how to focus on these steps and avoid the negative aspects of things like avoiding or illuminating anxiety, making poor decisions and arrogant.

A couple points that stood out to me while reading the book include:

• “High performance has little to do with the arena and an awful lot to do with mastering skills.”

• “When we direct our attention to isolated tasks and evaluate our efforts on a consistent basis, improvement is achieved – often at accelerated rates. The result or outcome is a by-product of the performance. If we perform well, the chances of winning greatly increase.”

• “When we are accountable for our own lives, growth is inevitable. It is just a matter of time before our objectives are achieved.       Finally, performers who set task objectives find that there is much o more to life than just winning and losing. They become open to all the intricacies of life. Paying attention to the details of performance allows growth to be maximized while increasing the quality of what we do.”

• “Fear only exists in our thoughts of what may or may not happen in the future.”

• “By learning to control our thoughts, we prevent anxiety from disrupting our everyday lives.”

• “Learning to celebrate what is right about ourselves, and the world we live in, is one of the most important mental skills.”

• “When we delve into other people’s business excessively, we open the door to irrelevant stimuli that only serve to lower our ability to function in productive, efficient ways.”

• “I don’t believe that once we reach a certain level of confidence we automatically become arrogant. As long as we think we the right way, confidence can be built indefinitely.”

• “Only those willing to take risks learn new skill sets that can be the difference between being really good and being great.”

I enjoyed the book and have found myself trying to incorporate Manning’s teachings into my daily activities, specifically focusing on the moment and not worrying about what could happen. I checked the book out from the library but will probably go and purchase the book so I can make notes in it and underline specific parts that stand out to me.

While I’m usually not a self-help book reader, I recommend this book. I think it provides good reminders of the important role confidence plays in our ability to perform at a high level and hoe to build and maintain confidence even in the face of obstacles and failures.

Five Lessons From Sports that Lead to Immediate and Long-Lasting Success

As many of you know from reading my blog over the years, I’m a huge sports fan. In this year’s NBA Finals I liked both teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, mainly because I’m a huge fan of LeBron James and Steph Curry. I appreciate how talented LeBron is and how he uses his immense talent to make everybody around him better. I admire Curry for his incredible shot making ability as well as his toughness for a so called “little guy.”

There are other players I enjoy watching on both teams, but I’ve come to admire and respect one individual in particular over the course of this Finals and the past NBA season, Steve Kerr, head coach of the Golden State Warriors.

I remember Kerr from his playing days and the big shots he hit to help his teams win five NBA championships over his 14 year playing career. I thought he was knowledgeable as a broadcaster on TNT and as I’ve learned more about him and his approach to coaching and life in general I’ve become not only a fan but also a student of his philosophies and success.

Kerr became the first rookie NBA head coach since Pat Riley with the Los Angeles Lakers to win an NBA title. When he was hired some were surprised because he had no coaching experience and the previous head coach, Mark Jackson had a successful season. Jackson’s problem was not a lack of coaching ability but rather an inability to get along with others.

Some co called “experts” thought the Warriors wouldn’t improve this season and that they would be in for another short playoff appearance. I’ve always felt there are a lot of lessons to be learned from sports. Lessons that apply not only to sports but to business and every walk of life. With that in mind, Kerr’s approach is worthy of sharing and included the following key parts:

• Humility: Since being hired as the head coach, Kerr has gone out of his way to give his team, specifically his assistant coaches and players the credit. He’s been quoted as saying, “The main thing in all this is I’ve been extremely lucky.” He’s also said on several occasions, “Don’t talk to me, talk to my assistants – they’re the ones doing all the real work.” He’s been careful all season to avoid criticizing Jackson and unlike Jackson hasn’t let his ego get in the way of the team’s success. Last season, Jackson implemented a rule prohibiting assistant coaches from talking to the press. When one coach was given credit for his work, Jackson had him relocated to coach the team’s D-League team. Kerr on the other hand has hired assistants known and respected for their expertise and skill. He’s leaned on them and relied on them to help him and his team maximize their talent and achieve a greater level of success that led to the best record in the NBA this season.
• Perspective: Prior to becoming a head coach and between broadcasting gigs, Kerr was the General Manager (GM) of the Phoenix Suns. Two stories about Kerr’s stay in Phoenix stood out to me and showed that he had a good perspective on what he wanted to accomplish. In the first example, Kerr was working with a guy named David Griffin. Griffin said, “Basketball was the sum total of my life. I threw myself into the job to such a degree that I had absolutely no balance whatsoever. Steve made me understand, ‘You don’t have anything to prove.’ He made me a radically better human being.” One night, when the Suns were on the road, Kerr discovered that Griffin was watching the game from home instead of the office, “I’m so proud of you,” he told Griffin.

The second example occurred during Kerr’s last game as the GM in Phoenix. It was the 2010 Western Conference Finals and one of Kerr’s players tried to save a loose ball from going out of bounds and landed on a courtside photographer. The photographer was injured and loaded onto a stretcher and taken by ambulance to the hospital. As this all happened, Kerr left his seat and walked with the photographer as he was carried out of the arena and loaded into the ambulance. As he was being loaded into the ambulance, Kerr asked if he could call anybody for him. Kerr called the photographer’s wife to let her know what had happened all while his team was losing and being eliminated from the playoffs.

• Have a plan: When Kerr was interviewing for the head coaching job, what impressed the team owner was how prepared Kerr was. He had created a PowerPoint Presentation that outlined things like, why he was ready to be a head coach in the NBA and specific areas of each players’ game that he wanted to work on to make the player better. Many people say Kerr had wanted to coach for years and when he got his chance he took full advantage of the opportunity by having a plan in place.
• Listen and take advice from others: A couple of years ago, during the offseason, Kerr attended a sports leadership conference. At the conference he ran into Jeff Van Gundy, a former head coach and current broadcaster. Kerr had always respected Van Gundy’s work and asked his advice. Van Gundy advised him to write down everything. Everything you’ve learned, everything you want to do, everything you’d change. It’ll organize your thoughts. Develop your philosophy. Kerr had kept a journal during his playing days but began writing everything down after his conversation with Van Gundy. As a result, Kerr had an extensive list of plays he liked and developed his philosophy to the point it was easy for him to build his master plan when he got the opportunity with Golden State.
• Willingness to learn and improve: Kerr was obviously willing to learn. For this point though, I’ll highlight a different coach, Clint Hurdle, manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. One of Hurdle’s colleagues said, “Clint’s willingness to learn is one of his great strengths. You’re talking about a guy with a number of years in the dugout who could very easily be the old-school guy that’s done it for a number of years and has his own way. He’s always hungering to find ways to make everyone better.” This hunger is evident in his success. Under Hurdle, the Pirates have experienced a revival, making the playoffs the last two seasons after 20 straight losing seasons.

As a player, Kerr earned the trust and respect of Michael Jordan as well as Hall of Fame coaches Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich. In fact, Popovich said, “People gravitate to him. Steve has a great sense of humor – refined, honest and self-deprecating when it needs to be.”

Now, as a coach, Kerr has earned the respect of his players, the Golden State Warriors organization and the entire league. He accomplished this by creating a formula that breeds success for him and everybody that comes in contact with him. I admire him for what he’s done and am working to make sure I follow his successful example in my career.

Book Review: Betrayal

Book Review: Betrayal

Author: Robert Fitzpatrick with Jon Land

Robert Fitzpatrick was an FBI agent assigned to the Boston office in the early 1980’s to help clean up an office caught up in internal corruption and bring down the infamous and deadly Irish gangster, Whitey Bulger.

The corruption started in the 1970’s when Bulger was recruited by the FBI to be an informant to help bring down the Italian Mob in Boston. It quickly turned into a relationship where instead of the FBI leading Bulger, Bulger was leading his FBI handlers. Not only was he dictating the terms of their relationship but he was being tipped off to the FBI’s efforts and plans and was able to profit from this knowledge. In time, due to this information, Bulger became the most powerful gangster in all of New England and basically had total immunity and protection from his FBI handlers

Fitzpatrick tried early on in his tenure in the Boston office to take Bulger down. Bulger though had too many FBI agents in his back pocket and as a result had the protection of the Boston office and in many cases, FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC.

Every time Fitzpatrick got close to building a case to take Bulger down, his FBI handlers would alert him to the threat and witnesses would disappear, i.e., die/be murdered. It was clear to Fitzpatrick that the disappearances were due to Bulger and the intel he was receiving from his FBI handlers, but nobody would listen to him.

As Fitzpatrick tried to fight against these agents he drew the ire of many of his superiors and became in many respects an enemy. Superiors tried to discredit Fitzpatrick at every turn and make his life and job as difficult as possible. It got to the point that they were successful. After many years of internal fighting with the FBI, Fitzpatrick decided to retire and begin consulting and serving as a private investigator.

His enemies within the FBI continued to haunt him, trying to make his life difficult and to prevent him from making a living. Eventually truth won out through court cases where Fitzpatrick was the key witness and driving force in exposing the rampant wrongdoings within Boston’s FBI Office.

While preparing for one court case, Fitzpatrick was preparing for his testimony with his attorney and described Bulger, “”Bulger, on the outside anyway, was a constant show of machismo, force, and bravado. But inside lurked a thug with low self-esteem buttressed only by the security he found in wielding power through intimidation and brutality. The very definition, in my mind, of weakness. A bully, plain and simple. A psychopath.”

In reference to the other FBI agents who were doing their best to discredit Fitzpatrick in order to cover up their own indiscretions Fitzpatrick says, “…the apparent vindictiveness knew no bounds, especially for those who are perceived to have embarrassed the Bureau.”

Due to Fitzpatrick’s testimony, one former FBI agent, John Connolly was sentenced to a number of years in prison for a number of crimes, including murder, connected to his relationship and efforts to protect Bulger. Others probably should have been convicted and sentenced to jail time but Connolly was the only person associated with the internal corruption to serve jail time.

This happened in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. As a result, there were a number of other cases filed against the FBI’s Boston office for murder and wrongful deaths. The family’s filing these lawsuits won the cases due to Fitzpatrick and his courage and determination to see justice served.

In June 2011 after more than 15 years on the lamb, Bulger was captured in California and sent back to Boston to stand trial for his crimes. He was sentenced to life in prison.

I liked the book and found it interesting that FBI agents would go to such lengths to protect a gangster while allowing this same gangster to get away with murder. I was pleased that in the end, Fitzpatrick was vindicated as in the early 2000’s the United States government found the FBI guilty for a number of the crimes Fitzpatrick had alleged in the mid 1980’s.

It’s nice to see the good guy win. I’ve had experiences with former bosses where it seems like they have all the power and there is nothing I can do about some of the wrong things they do. I always believe that good will win out in the end, sometimes if just takes time, as in the case with Fitzpatrick.

I highly recommend this book.

Bully’s Suck

Bully’s suck. In some form or another, everybody’s probably had at least one experience with bullying. I think most people assume that bullying only takes place with kids and in schools. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

I’m currently reading a book called Betrayal by Robert Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick was an FBI agent assigned to the Boston office to help clean up the office and bring down the infamous and deadly Irish gangster, Whitey Bulger.

In the book Fitzpatrick describes the first time he met and talked to Bulger. He described the situation down the very detail of how Bulger had the room set up, where he made Fitzgerald sit in the room and how he talked to him and ignored his questions and even refused to shake his hand.

To Fitzgerald who is trained in psychology and reading people and their actions and non-verbal communication it was clear that Bulger was trying to intimidate and bully him. Without ruining too many details of the book, Fitzpatrick tried early on in his tenure in the Boston office to take Bulger down. Bulger though had too many FBI agents in his back pocket and as a result had the protection of the Boston office and in many cases, FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC.

As Fitzpatrick tried to fight against these agents he drew the ire of many of his superiors and became in many respects an enemy. Superiors tried to discredit Fitzpatrick at every turn and make his life and job as difficult as possible. It got to the point that they were successful. After many years of internal fighting with the FBI, Fitzpatrick decided to retire and begin consulting and serving as a private investigator.

His enemies within the FBI continued to haunt him, try to make his life difficult and to prevent him from making a living. Eventually truth won out through court cases where Fitzpatrick was the key witness and driving force in exposing the rampant wrongdoings within Boston’s FBI Office.

While preparing for one court case, Fitzpatrick was preparing for his testimony with his attorney and described Bulger and in my opinion, all bullies, “”Bulger, on the outside anyway, was a constant show of machismo, force, and bravado. But inside lurked a thug with low self-esteem buttressed only by the security he found in wielding power through intimidation and brutality. The very definition, in my mind, of weakness. A bully, plain and simple. A psychopath.”

In reference to the other FBI agents who were doing their best to discredit Fitzpatrick on order to cover up their own indiscretions Fitzpatrick says, “…the apparent vindictiveness knew no bounds, especially for those who are perceived to have embarrassed the Bureau.”

In my experiences, that’s typically the way corporate bullying goes. Bully’s try to keep the truth cloaked in darkness while tormenting others to pass blame. Those being bullied are forced to fend for themselves to carve out a small or limited degree of security that rarely expands to anywhere but their own cars and homes.

I thought Fitzgerald’s take on the situation was interesting and very telling. He said that he wasn’t surprised and that this type of bullying goes on every day in every walk of life, including corporate America.

• Know your rights. Growing up the GI Joe cartoons used to say that knowing is half the battle. In my experience, some people think that they can bully others due to their position within the company or by the fact that they own the business. This is absolutely not true. Knowing this as well as your rights once you’ve been bullied will enable you to act quickly and stop further bullying and prevent it from escalating to the next level. If it’s a manager or business owner that’s doing the bullying and you report it, there are laws protecting you from retaliation.
• Talk about it. Being bullied is difficult no matter how old you are. When you’re bullied you feel inadequate or that you’ve done something wrong. The best solution is to talk about it. Share it with family, friends, colleague and supervisors or other members of the executive team. The quicker you get it out in the open the quicker the abuse can be properly addressed and stopped.
• Document specific instances. If bulling does occur, write it down as quickly as you can so you can have the details of the incident if needed at a later date. If you wait to document the incident, some of the details may be lost and can prevent a quick resolution.
• Tell the truth. Bullies are experts at covering up the truth, blaming others and pointing fingers at everybody but themselves. While he was preparing for court, Fitzpatrick told his attorney, “When you tell the truth, you don’t have to worry about what you’ll say.” Truer words were never spoken. If you tell the truth, I believe you have nothing to fear or to worry about in terms of being caught up in a lie.

In the case of Fitzpatrick he overcame the bullies and was vindicated. It took time, but in the end he won. When I was in the seventh grade, a fellow classmate started picking on me. I wasn’t sure what to do or how to handle it so I tried to avoid the kid. We had a couple classes together so it was hard to avoid him. After a couple weeks of his torment, I got fed up with it and after class as he began picking on me I hauled off and decked him. I hit him as hard as I could in the stomach. He doubled over and that ended the bulling right then and there.

We went through six years of junior high and high school, had classed together and I can’t remember him ever speaking to me again. All it took was one brave moment to let him know I wasn’t going to put up with his crap anymore. I believe the same applies for corporate bullying. Some get away with it for so long they don’t even give it a second thought and think they can get away with whatever they want, whenever they want. If you’re willing to stand up to the bully it often only takes once for them to realize you’re not going to put up with their crap.

It’s sad that some feel they can bully others, but in my view there is nothing more pleasing than shutting one of these bullies down and putting them in their proper place.