506: Buzz Williams - The 9 Daily Disciplines, Constant Improvement, Loving The Process, & Being on Team Bus One

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Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

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My Guest: Buzz Williams is the head Men's Basketball Coach at Texas A&M University. He's coached his teams to eight NCAA Tournament appearances in 13 years as a head coach. In 2020, Buzz was named the SEC "Coach of the Year." His teams have won 20 or more games in five of the last seven seasons. Buzz's teams have four Sweet Sixteen appearances. Buzz is known as a coach who helps his players on and off the court. He teaches regular life development sessions to his players called "Get Better 101."

Notes:

• Buzz has nine daily disciplines. "Your decisions reveal your priority."
  • Train body at 5:30, get steps at 7:30, write 2 thank you notes per day, write children a note on their favorite color note card every day, read a book a week, weekly date night with his wife, and on non-gamedays is 7 meaningful texts.
• • "You can be whatever you earn the right to be."
• Team Bus 1 - The core group of people that make up the team. Those that sit on the bench and play in the games.
• In order to climb the ladder, you must go one step at a time. You can't skip steps. There are no hacks, no shortcuts. Being able to delay gratification is a superpower and creates the opportunity to make a big impact. It's the ability to show up each day and take one step at a time.
• "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great."
• "History rarely remembers the critics. It remembers the contributors. So contribute!"
• "Energized leaders can evoke energy from within others. But when the leader lets up a little, followers tend to let up a lot."
• "The reward for passing the test is earning the next test."
• "Being a boss is a job. Being a leader is something you earn."
• "Goliath is not there to kill you, he is there to introduce you."
• "Pressure is a privilege." (Billie Jean King book title)
• "Basketball is not the source, it is the vehicle."
• "While we are leading, our rate of learning must be at least as fast as the rate of change."
• "Your patience when you have nothing, and your attitude when you have everything are two things that will always define you."
• "You grow up thinking winning is the scoreboard at the end. But you learn there is so much that goes into the business of winning. Winning is the details-the discipline. The business of winning happens every second, and this business doesn't turn the lights off."
• "There's a ceiling to talent. There's no ceiling to someone's hunger & to someone's drive to be the best. How hard a team works, how hard they play, how together they are- there's no ceiling to that." Many times in life what's invisible is what's important.
• "True love does not have an agenda."
• Team Rules:
  • Always tell the truth, no matter what
  • Always be on time... 6 = early
  • Be a great teammate... It compounds
  • Never do anything to embarrass you/your family/your team/your school
  • If anything is potentially a problem, please call Buzz
• What Buzz looks for when recruiting a player:
  • Character
  • IQ & EQ
  • Work ethic - Do they want to work?
    • Consumed with process
    • Insatiable drive to get better
  • A great teammate
• Life/Career advice:
  • Never be without pen and paper. Take notes.
  • Read more than you think you need to.
  • Write down everything, about anything, all the time.
  • Build trustful relationships. Seek to give to others and add value to their lives.
  • Never turn down an opportunity to learn or work.