The Twin Thieves by Lucas Jadin and Steve Jones.md

The Twin Thieves by Lucas Jadin and Steve Jones

• “Now, I understand this is real life. Outcomes matter. Winning matters. Profits matter. But we understood early on that those things were not entirely in our control,” Cooper said, as if he had picked up on Coach Frost’s confusion. “Instead of focusing on those results, we relentlessly focused on the factors driving those results. There was never a ‘secret’ to our success. But there was a system.

• Bad leaders have hopes. Average leaders have quotes. Elite leaders have systems.

• Great leaders are great listeners. People won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. And the fastest way to show someone you care is by truly listening.”

• ‘On bad teams, nobody leads. On average teams, coaches lead. But on elite teams, players lead.’

• Creating elite teams means developing players that choose ownership over excuses.

• The Twin Thieves are the fear of failure and the fear of judgment. And they are the biggest thieves in America right now.

• “Basically, they found that the number one thing driving great teams is developing an environment that rises above the Twin Thieves. A team where people know they can take risks without being ridiculed, exposed, or embarrassed.”

• “Love isn’t about letting things slide. It’s about setting high standards and consistently holding your teammates to those standards.”

• It’s not about hating the person across from you, it’s about working your absolute hardest because you love the person next to you.”

• TRUST = CARE + CREDIBILITY + RELIABILITY AUTHENTIC VULNERABILITY “Cooper calls this the Trust Framework,” Coach Frost told him. “It takes the idea of trust and breaks it down into four concrete fundamental areas that can be developed. It shows that great trust builders don’t become that way by accident. They are great because they dominate in these areas.”

• Trust is like climbing a ladder. You can’t get to the top in one step, but you can certainly get to the bottom with one misstep.”

• It’s easy to yell at somebody and then just turn your back. It’s hard to guide them, encourage them, and continue showing up until they succeed. It’s easy to point somebody out for being late. It’s hard to get up early, show up at their doorstep, and give them a ride. It’s easy to yell at a teammate for missing a line while running. It’s hard to do another rep and run alongside them so they meet the standard.

• The mission of great leadership is to increase your level of care and empathy without lowering the standard.”

• Cooper went on: “Let me explain. On the plains of Colorado, something interesting happens to the wildlife when storm clouds roll through. When the cows sense a storm approaching, they hightail it in the opposite direction, trying to escape it. But cows can’t outrun a storm. Eventually, it catches them—and they end up right in the thick of it, suffering as they’re forced to put up with the treacherous conditions. By continuing to run and avoid the storm, the cows actually end up in the storm for much longer. Herds of buffalo respond differently. When buffalo sense a storm coming, they move straight into the dark, windy skies. By heading into the storm, they spend less time in danger and come out on the other side with fewer injuries.

• “Worrying is like a rocking chair—it gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere. You can worry all you want, but without action, you are in the same spot.

• “You see, many people love bamboo. They love the bamboo trees, and they love the bamboo wood—but very few people understand the arduous process of growing bamboo. First, you dig up the soil and make sure it is fertile, and then you plant the bamboo seed. Then you must faithfully water it every day. After three months, guess what starts to happen?” “The bamboo tree starts to sprout up out of the ground?” Trey responded, still in a state of frustration. “Nothing! You see absolutely nothing happening. For an entire year, you can water it and water it—and you still won’t see any progress. Do you know what happens after two years?” Trey replied, more tentatively this time, “It starts to sprout up out of the ground?” “Nothing! You still see absolutely nothing,” Cooper explained. “That’s because the development is all happening beneath the surface. Beneath the surface, a massive, dense foundation of roots is spreading out all throughout the ground to prepare for the rapid growth that the bamboo will experience. So, you keep watering it and watering it, and eventually, after three years of seeing nothing at all happen above the surface—the bamboo tree shoots up to over ninety feet tall in just six weeks!

• The Twin Thieves are quick to cast judgment toward your teammates. They are just lazy. They just don’t care. They’re selfish. They’re a jerk. Don’t believe the immediate assumptions.

• E + R = O “This equation is like gravity. It’s a law. It doesn’t matter if you like it or not.” He tapped his marker on the board. “The E stands for events. The R stands for response. And the O stands for outcome. In one game—even in just one practice—we face hundreds of events. The ways we respond to those events ultimately combine to create the outcome we get.”7

• “We learned last Sunday about the importance of our response. There are a lot of unfortunate events that can transpire throughout a game, throughout a year, and throughout a lifetime. However, if we focus solely on our response to those events, the outcome will be significantly better.

• When you see life through the ‘I got to’ lens, everything becomes an obligation. It can start to feel like a job. But elite teams avoid the lie of ‘I got to’ and keep a perspective of ‘I get to.’ They remember that every moment together is a gift. That some of the very things they get caught seeing as a burden would be seen as a blessing by somebody else.”

• Mudita is a Sanskrit word that doesn’t have an English equivalent. It means being authentically joyful for other people’s success.

• To the The Twin Thieves, mudita is kryptonite—because when you see the success of others as your own success, you won’t be limited by fear, insecurity, and self-doubt.

• “There was once an old farmer who loved his grandson as much as anything. To demonstrate his love, he gifted his grandson a special watch. The watch had been passed down for many generations—and he decided it was time for his grandson to have it. The grandson treasured the watch and knew how important it was to his family. He rarely ever took it off his wrist. One day, the boy was playing with his friends in the haymow of the family farm. They jumped from bale to bale, tackled each other, played games till the sun went down. But at one point, the boy noticed something that made his heart drop to the floor. His watch was gone. He couldn’t believe it. The chances of finding it in all that hay were nearly impossible. He was hopeless. The boy searched like a madman, throwing hay everywhere. With every minute he looked, his concern crept closer to full-blown panic. Thoughts raced through his head: How could I do this! My grandpa is going to be so disappointed. I’m such an embarrassment! After finally giving up, exhausted and frustrated, the boy decided to tell his grandpa. It went much better than the boy thought. His grandpa even told him he’d help him find it. The boy was certain they’d looked everywhere. He told his grandpa there was no hope. When they entered the haymow, the boy started pointing out all the places he’d looked. The barn looked like a tornado had gone through it. But before they got closer, his grandpa raised his hand and asked the boy to be silent. The two of them stood in the middle of the haymow, motionless. Just when the boy was about to explode in confusion and frustration, he heard it. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick… The grandpa smiled at his grandson and walked toward the noise. He rolled over a bale, dusted off the hay, and picked up the shiny watch. He handed it back to his grandson with a loving smile, and they walked out together.”

• As tomorrow approaches, focus on simply walking across the board like you have done hundreds of times before. Put one foot in front of the other.

• Focus on what you want to achieve, not what you want to avoid.”

• The ultimate illusion of the human experience is control. The person you want beside you in battle is the guy who has surrendered the outcome, and surrendered to the fact that he might die. When you surrender the outcome, you are freed up to be at your best, to be in the moment, and to trust your training. It is the one who has surrendered the outcome who ironically has the greatest chance of survival.

• He’d always pictured this moment to be the happiest of his life. But now, holding the championship trophy—he realized that the journey with this group was complete. Tears rolled down his cheeks. As he gathered the team to address them one more time, a single thought ran through his mind: I’d give this hunk of metal back in a second if it meant I could spend one more week with this team.

• 11 Ways Great Leaders Build Great Teams

  1. Serve - The best leaders are servant leaders. Focus on serving the people you have the privilege to lead.
  2. Lead Yourself - Before you can lead others, you must lead yourself first. The best leaders model the way by doing the dirty work, having a growth mindset, and consistently living out the standards.
  3. Empower People - Leadership is a river, not a reservoir. Empower the people you have the privilege to lead by giving them ownership.
  4. Be the Buffalo - Your greatest opportunities will require you to confront the Twin Thieves. Don’t run from the fear of failure and the fear of judgment. Go toward them.
  5. Deliver the Mail to the Right Address - Provide direct feedback to the people that need to hear it the most. Put challenging issues on top of the table and have courageous conversations.
  6. Catch Champions - Shine a light on the behaviors you want to see by making celebration and recognition an essential part of your team’s culture.
  7. Water the Bamboo - Success is not microwavable. Great leadership is not an accident. Great leadership occurs when we pour time into the hearts and minds of the people we serve.
  8. Become an Elite Listener -  Great leaders are great listeners. Your team won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care, and the fastest way to show someone you care is to truly listen.
  9. Embrace Change - Change is inevitable, but growth is optional. Great leaders and elite cultures are constantly learning, evolving, changing, and growing.
  10. Focus on Your Response - There are a lot of events that are outside of our control. Elite leaders embrace these events and focus on how they respond.
  11. Love Your Team - The greatest counterpunch to fear is love. Connected teams are powerful teams. Bonds of love endure in a way bonds of fear never could.