Managing Failure

If you’re coaching kids, I recommend you read the Matheny Manifesto. It’s written by St. Louis Cardinal manager Mike Matheny.

After completing a long major league baseball career, Matheny was recruited to coach young boys in a summer baseball league. He said he would do it, but only if the parents and the players agreed to behave in ways uncommon in today’s youth sports.

The book chronicles that process. I admire his leadership approach. Read it. It will serve you in any leadership effort you make.

Here’s an example of a nugget you will receive:

“What separates the great players from the others is not just that they fail less frequently, but how they handle it when they do. They see their shortfalls, figure out ways to fix them and jump right back into the fight.”

That’s the “lean process” in a nutshell. You don’t ever get it perfect.

Things that work breakdown. We fall short.

Rather than wring hands, point fingers and react harshly, we act like the great players described above. We are accountable for what we do. We endeavor to fix them. We keep on playing.