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Hi Everyone,
Happy Friday! Thanks for spending part of it reading The Lake Street Journal.
This week we’re talking about Bill Belichick’s recruiting criteria, Graham Duncan’s eye for talent, and Ryan Holiday’s leadership philosophy. Let's get into it.
The Right 53
An NFL roster holds 53 players. Bill Belichick was relentless about recruiting the right 53.
Not the most talented 53. The right 53. The true Patriots.
To find them, Belichick had a system. He looked for passion, intelligence, selflessness, leadership, and work ethic.
"The big thing I'd say we look for are players with passion—guys that really love football," said Belichick. "We don't want people who are in football because of the lifestyle it brings or the opportunities from it. We want people who are in the business because they love doing it."
Belichick wanted guys who loved the game because guys who love the game also love to practice. Loving practice versus enduring practice yields entirely different outcomes.
Even more than a love of the game, Belichick wanted guys who fit his system, his culture. He wanted selfless teammates and leaders.
"A guy who comes in and wants his name on a scoreboard that says 'Joe Blow No. 28' is probably not going to be a New England Patriot," Belichick said. "A guy who wants to play for a team and not worry about being a star is likely to be one."
Selfless, yes. But adaptable too.
Belichick lived for players who could adapt to the team's needs.
Guys like Kevin Faulk—the Swiss Army knife—who was a running back, receiver, special teams gunner, and return man. He was as happy throwing a block as taking a hand-off.
Or guys like Julian Edelman, a college quarterback who became a star receiver for the Patriots.
"Instead of embracing the role that your team wants you to have and needs you to have, some players want a role that they want to have and then sometimes that's a little bit of conflict," explained Belichick.
He didn't want those guys. They weren't true Patriots.
Unlike most NFL teams, the Pats didn't subscribe to the major scouting services. The scouting services looked for talent. Belichick wasn't looking for the most talented players. He was looking for the true Patriots.
"Toughness, intelligence, work ethic...you don't get that out of a vertical jump," Belichick would say.
He coached his scouts to evaluate players against other Patriots. To determine if they were coachable and if their intelligence matched their love of the game.
"Our goal was not to get the most talented 53," said Patriots scout Jason Licht. "It was to get the right 53. I learned from Belichick that 90 percent of the reason a high draft pick or prized free agent doesn't work out is because of what's above the neck."
So when it comes down to finding the right 53—whatever your version of that is—Belichick gives us some clear guidelines to follow.
Define your true Patriot. Understand the qualities that make your ideal hire, and relentlessly recruit for those qualities.
Find people who love the game—who love the thing you're doing. If they love it, they'll work harder, learn faster, need less motivation, and outperform the people just doing it for a paycheck.
Seek selfless chameleons. These are the people who don't care about their name on the scoreboard, they care about winning. They'll do what needs to be done, without complaint, as long as it means helping the team win.
Ignore your competitors. Find what works for you, and do that. Disregard everything else.
Put a high value on intelligence.
Don't get me wrong, talent is great. But pure talent isn't always the answer. As Belichick proved with each of his six Super Bowl rings, the right fit is much more important. The right 53.
This was an INCREDIBLE profile, but the title is misleading considering what I just wrote about Belichick.
It's about Graham Duncan, a very successful investor with a very specific talent: selecting the right people.
There were some interesting overlaps between Duncan's philosophy and Belichick's, namely finding people with passion. Duncan believes the best people in any field are the best largely because of passion. Because they "compete with the joy of the tennis player who wins because he likes hitting the ball more than the other guy."
The other thing that stood out to me was the extensiveness of Duncan's reference checks. He regularly will conduct up to 25 reference checks, usually in person.
If you're looking for the right 53, you'll find this piece very helpful. And even if you're not, I still recommend it—a very enjoyable read.
When I was reading Bill Belichick’s biography, I remember being confused about Pete Carroll.
He was Belichick’s predecessor in New England, and his record was weak. But I know Carroll as a Super Bowl winning head coach, and a college coach with two national championships.
What was the disconnect?
I learned while reading this piece from Ryan Holiday that Carroll realized after 15 years in coaching that he didn’t have a philosophy. He was winging it.
After this realization, Carroll focused on building his philosophy. And this begot his transformation into a legendary leader and coach.
Holiday uses this story to underscore the importance of having a leadership philosophy, and, of course, he shares his own.
Having a leadership philosophy is super important, but it takes a lot of time and thought. This article was my catalyst to start putting mine into writing.
These are my two favorite parts of Holiday’s philosophy:
Be there when they’re losing, not when they’re winning. Support your people when they’re struggling, and get out of their way when they’re cruising.
Help people get where they want to go. The job you’re hiring this person for is probably not his end goal. Understand his end goal and help him to achieve it.
Workout of the Week
My sister and her family visited last weekend, so I got a chance to do a workout with her. We picked a tough one.
"Death Pyramid"
2-4-6-8-10-8-6-4-2
squat cleans (135)
pull-ups
burpees over bar
My goal time was 18 minutes, but it took me 19:30. This one’s a burner.
Quote of the Week
“Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for the love of it.” Henry David Thoreau
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Talk soon,
Joe