Institute

"Before you can win, you have to stop losing"

— Chuck Noll (4x Super Bowl Champion, Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers 1969-1991)

As the saying goes, more games at a professional level are lost, then won. As an avid football fan, of the at best mediocre Chiefs teams in the 2000s and early 2010s, I can tell you that this was without a doubt a defining characteristic of those teams. Losing became a part of the culture and you just knew they were going to figure out a way to blow it every time they had a lead going into the 4th. I can still see it in my head, an overly aggressive safety, jumping a route in an attempt to put the game away with a pick, only to end up getting burnt for a game winning TD. Or even more frustrating to watch, down 2 scores with 6 minutes to play, a check-down in the flat on 3rd & 12, then punt it away on 4th. Too aggressive, too conservative, poor clock management, costly penalties, timely turnovers or sometimes they just overall didn't seem to care. Those teams just couldn't figure out how to stop losing.

Some days, the gameplan seems to work to perfection, and the ball just bounces your way all day long. On those days, its easy to win, you just have to show up and execute the basics. Other days, you feel outmatched, and the ball seems to actively bounce away from you, your coach is on your case, the officials make a bad call, or all of the above. So you start pressing, instead of trusting in the process and since you are no longer playing your game, the fundamentals that were so ingrained before, get suppressed. When this happens, we have put ourselves in a position to lose.

If you have ever noticed, most Quarterbacks that are in the all-time great category, seem to do better in the biggest moments, like trailing late in the Super Bowl. I would argue that they don't all of the sudden decide to start playing their best, but they do make a conscious effort to execute the basics, trust the players and coaches around them, and avoid mistakes by keeping their composure, allowing the game to come to them. Thus, they STOP LOSING and START WINNING.

The Sales Translation

As a sales professional, we must be prepared for the "situational game" and know how to keep our composure and focus on execution when our backs are up against the wall. A losing mentality will typically start blaming and focus on everything that went wrong or was "unfair" leading up to that moment. In an interaction they will start to press to avoid the undesired outcome they are so focused on. In the sales world, we call that "Commission breath."

When we are focused on an outcome, our subconscious doesn't care if we are trying to avoid it or produce it. It views it as the expectation, therefore that's what it starts to validate. We are now stuck in a cycle of bad production, and focusing on the behaviors that perpetuate bad production. If we don't do something soon, we will start to form habits and a culture that not only tolerates, but expects bad production.

On the opposite side of the same coin, if we visualize and focus on the desired outcomes and basic behaviors we want to execute, our subconscious will view that as an expectation, and that's what it starts to validate.

The Thought Dump Technique

One thing that has been very helpful for me, is actually the ADHD tactic of "thought dumping." If I feel myself start to focus on a negative behavior or outcome I make a conscious decision to let it go by writing it down. Since I know I can always come back to it later if I want, its out of my mind, and I don't have to focus on it anymore. I can then go look at my goals, previous wins, or a list of behaviors that produce the desired outcome and allow my focus to shift there. These are the habits I want my mind to validate.

From Losing Culture to Dynasty

Fortunately for myself, and the rest of Chiefs Kingdom we no longer have the expectation that our team is going to lose. It's gone from a struggling franchise to an expectation of competing for a championship every year.

But, before you can even put yourself in a position to be on the biggest stage, in the biggest moment and give yourself a chance to win it all, you have to show up, put in the effort, execute the basics, and allow the "game" to come to you.

Before you can win, you have to stop losing.