Keep your concentration here and now, where it belongs (Qui-Gon Jinn)

Start again.

I'm still reflecting on some lessons from Chasing Great - the film about All Black captain, Richie McCaw.

That list he wrote before each game began, each time, with 'Start again'.

I love that.

I referred to it at our first assembly of the term - a new start!

Achievements are great and they are important for a time, but they mean little to the present situation where you have to prove yourself all over again (and again and again...).

Being mindful of the past and future is fine, but not at the expense of the moment - yes, Qui-Gon again.

In that way you are always aiming to improve.

Richie's list always ended with G.A.B. (Great All Black). A reminder of his goal (he barely dared to dream it and write it down - such was his humility).

Dare to dream. Write it down! Keep it!

Every little thing she does is magic magic magic (The Police)

Photo by Matteo Vistocco on Unsplash

Every one rowing together in a co-ordinated way can be a powerful force.

It's something greatly to be admired, and aimed for because it gives a concerted effort towards a common purpose..

Some, but not all, All Black teams have had it. The last notable time was in 2015 during the world cup under Richie McCaw's awesome leadership.

Some Arsenal teams have had it - the 2003-2004 'Invincibles' team was the clear example, but too often they have not even been all in the same boat.

Some schools have it, but this is an even rarer situation, in my experience. All it takes is a couple of staff either not contributing or worse, facing the opposite direction, and the boat feels like it's caught a crab.

Personally I've only experienced true alignment twice. Once at Macleans College under the headship of Colin Prentice. 

And now.

Start again (Richie McCaw)

That's a great, succinct life lesson from Richie. In his All Black context it was a case of reminding himself that he had to prove himself again, and again, every day.

Legacy, the book about applying lessons from the All Blacks to business and life by James Kerr, had been sitting on my shelf at school for a year before I read it.

It was worth the wait.

Here are some bookmarks from my reading:

The truth is that the story we tell about our life becomes the story of our life. The narrative we tell our team, business, brand, organisation or family becomes the story others eventually tell about us. 

"I believe that leadership begins and ends with authenticity, It's being yourself, being the person you were created to be" - Harvard Business School professor Bill George.

These are interesting and relevant thoughts for me, following on from my previous post about new starts, first impressions, and relentless positivity.

The lesson is simple: be authentic (a lesson I've learned over the years - staff, students and parent can easily see when you're not being yourself).