Tuesday, February 5, 2013

February 5, 2013


1. Well, I got one right. I picked Baltimore to win. I was glad the Super Bowl was a good game.
2. I missed the halftime show with Beyonce and Destiny’s Child. I’ve heard many say they were responsible for the lights going out.
3. I have heard more talk on Drones this week than I have since the last Star Wars movie I saw.
4. I have finally opened up to using SPOTIFY. It’s free on Facebook, and it basically places the world’s entire library of music on your computer.
5. To help me understand innovation and organization better, I recently completed reading my second biography on coaching great Paul Brown—PAUL BROWN by Andrew O’Toole. For those of you who do not know or remember, Brown coached the Cleveland Browns from 1946-1962, and later, the Cincinnati Bengals. Basically, Brown founded both teams and owned the second (although the Cleveland Browns were named after him.)            
            So what about Paul Brown? Like many people who are extremely successful, Paul Brown's years of pro football success extended approximately ten years—and no more. The years before his coaching the Cleveland Browns demonstrated a coaching genius on the ascent. He coached a high school team to a state championship; he then won a national championship at Ohio State. Both were accomplished before he turned forty.
            The genius came to fruition in his first ten years with Cleveland from 1945 to 1955. There Brown was the most innovative and entrepreneurial coach in NFL history. Inventing the facemask, the playbook, filming practice, scheduling practice, practicing how to practice, Brown changed pro football forever. It was no secret that the championships (seven!) won during those years were due to his innovation. However, unlike many entrepreneurs who founded a company and moved on, Brown chose to remain with his “company.” That was his downfall and led to his firing at Cleveland.
            Later, he started a new franchise, the Cincinnati Bengals, from scratch. To a lesser degree, he enjoyed a great deal of success. No great innovation in Cincinnati, but they were a good franchise whose early years were, at times, remarkable.
            We remember Paul Brown primarily for what he did during a decade. Based on that evaluation, he was amazing.

 *Thanks to Peter King for the inspiration for this title.

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