Don Shula led the Miami Dolphins to two Super Bowl victories and the only perfect season in the history of the National Football League. He led his teams to six Super Bowls. He had only two losing seasons in his 33-year career as a head coach in the NFL (1963-1995). Shula holds the NFL record for most career wins as a head coach with 347.
 
As a Coach in Miami, Shula's teams were 28-8 in regular season games started by a backup quarterback. His teams always practiced their backup plan. Shula calls this being "Audible- Ready". In his book with Ken Blanchard: The Little Book of Coaching, Shula discusses the importance of the idea:
 
"An audible is a verbal command that tells your players to substitute new assignments for the ones they were prepared to perform. Part of readiness is the ability to shift your game plan at will. Prepare well with a plan - then expect the unexpected and be ready to change that plan. As a leader, you must preserve the right to change plans - even to change them at the last moment as circumstances may dictate.
 
There is no point in sticking with a game plan that's not working. The sun does not rise and fall based on one person's judgment.Effective coaches are continually out there scanning for data and advice that will make their decisions more intelligent. Good coaches listen to their staff, and once they've heard all of the important information, they're prepared to make the best decisions under any circumstance.
 
Audibles are not last-minute orders dreamed up out of nowhere. They're strategies your team knows about and has practiced thoroughly before the call is made. In the fast-paced technological world of today, organizations must be "audible ready" - not only to change a play or two, but to change the entire game plan if necessary."
 
Don Shula prepared thoroughly and then he would ask "What if?"and plan and practice for those contingencies. When his two star quarterbacks got hurt in the same game and he had to put a running back in at quarterback and change from a passing offense to a running offense, the change was seamless and they won the game because he had practiced the backup plan. Shula had already asked and prepared for the situation because he had asked "What if both our quarterbacks get hurt?"
 
If Shula was running a business he would ask: "What if our computer system crashes, the power grid fails, our battery backup system doesn't work and our phone system goes down? What exactly are we going to do?" Once he documented the plan in detail, he would make the team members practice it. That's being Audible-ready! When you're caught surprised or flat-footed you don't have the time to properly evaluate, and you end up making bad decisions. Shula never let this happen.
 
Have you practiced your backup plans? Are you flat footed or Audible- Ready?

​Don Shula led the Miami Dolphins to two Super Bowl victories and to the only perfect season in the history of the National Football League He led his teams to six Super Bowls. He had only two losing seasons in his 33-year career as a head coach in the NFL (1963-1995) Shula holds the NFL record for most career wins as a head coach with 347.
 
In his book with Ken Blanchard: The Little Book of Coaching, Shula discusses the importance of Overlearning:
 
"Overlerning means that the players are so prepared for a game that they have the skill and confidence needed to make the big play. More than anything else, overlerning—constant practice, constant attention to getting the details right every time—produces hunger to be in the middle of the action. When players have absolutely no doubt about what they're supposed to do or how to do it, they thrive on pressure. Overlearning causes people to play at a higher level of expectations, raising the standards for everyone.
 
People in organizations should develop a fascination with what doesn't work. If you spend some valuable time concentrating on eliminating practice errors, you'll also eliminate a good amount of the second-guessing that goes on come performance time. Every mistake should be noticed and redirected on the spot. There's no such thing as a small error or flaw that can be easily overlooked. As a coach, if you let errors go unnoticed, you'll ensure that more of them will occur."
 
A coach should recognize the limit of how much information each student can learn and then execute without thinking. Shula refers to this as autopilot. Bill Russell and John Wooden both said: "If you have to think about it it's too late". Shula described how autopilot results in initiative and creativity which improves performance:
 
"If your people are worrying about what they should be doing, they have a tendency to hold back. You want them out there turning it loose. I wanted my players so familiar with their assignments that when the game started, they were operating on autopilot, the way you do when you drive a car. You're not thinking about what your hands and feet are supposed to be doing, you're just doing it.When an orator is really prepared for a speech, he or she is able to improvise and be creative in ways that significantly enhance the presentation. The goal of autopilot in the business world is to release people to do on their own what they've learned reflects the values, goals, and standards of the company—and to be creative the rest of the time."
 
Are you giving a team member too much to learn? What mistakes do you never ignore? Are your team members operating on autopilot or are they thinking first and holding back?

​Don Shula is best known as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, the team he led to two Super Bowl victories, and to the only perfect season in the history of the National Football League. He led his teams to six Super Bowls. He had only two losing seasons in his 33-year career as a head coach in the NFL (1963-1995) He currently holds the NFL record for most career wins as a head coach with 347. Shula was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
 
For Shula, the C in Coach stands for: "Conviction-Driven (Never compromise your beliefs)". The Ken Blanchard quote: "A river without banks is a large puddle" typified Shula's approach to coaching. His unwavering belief system provided the banks to his players (the puddle) to be transformed into a powerful unified force (the river). In his excellent book with Ken Blanchard: The Little Book of Coaching, Shula expands on this idea:
 
"Like river banks, a good coach provides the direction and concentration for performers' energies, helping channel all their efforts toward a single desired outcome. Without that critical influence, the best achievements of the most talented performers can lack the momentum and drive that push them into becoming champions.
 
A broad target that's easy to achieve leads to the "puddle" of mediocrity. Keeping that specific focus before the team and concentrating their efforts within narrowly defined limits are the tasks of any coach.
 
I wanted to make sure that my team came out of every meeting a little more intelligent than when they went in, that they came off the practice field a little better prepared mentally and physically to play the game than they were before practice. I wanted my players to make the most of every meeting, every practice, and every preseason game in order to get them ready for the regular season. Everything I did was to prepare people to perform to the best of their ability. And you do that one day at a time.
 
You can't be a successful leader if you don't have a clear idea of what you believe, where you're headed and what you're willing to go to the mat for. What do you stand for? If we asked your colleagues, team members, or clients what your principles are, would they be able to tell us? What is the main message you broadcast to people based on your daily actions and words? Remember, if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
 
Is your team clear on the beliefs you won't compromise? Are you? Do you change with the wind of other's opinions? Are you managing a puddle or building a river?

Hall of Famer Joe Torre was a major league manager for 30 seasons. From 1996 to 2007, Torre was the manager of the New York Yankees and guided the team to four World Series championships. He is one of only five managers in history to win four or more World Series titles and one of only two in history to win three titles in a row.
 
In his book Ground Rules for Winners, Torre writes about three essential qualities he felt any manager, supervisor or coach must have and develop to be successful:
 
"Fairness, respect, and trust are the three ingredients in any recipe for teamwork. Offer fairness and trust to your team players, and they will do in kind. Not only will your employees grant you the decency you grant them, they will begin to demonstrate these values with one another, which only cements the togetherness and commitment that fuels great team work.
 
For the most part—whether you're managing in the world of sports, school, or business—when you give workers ample amounts of freedom and responsibility, including a clear set of guidelines for professional conduct, they usually meet or exceed your expectations."
 
In his book, Torre provids five guidelines for what he refers to as "straight communication" which he believes is the foundation for maintaining fairness, respect and trust:
 

1. "Identify individual needs: Figure out what each individual needs in the way of communication, be it support, motivation, technical help, or the proverbial "kick in the rear."
2. Time your talks: Determine when the "door is open" for communication with a particular team player. Know when you have to nudge it open with helpful or directive comments.
3. Acknowledge emotions: Let team players know that you accept the range of their emotions, including fear, uncertainty, and anxiety.
4. Get issues out on the table: Managers and team players must be able to air grievances and deal with problems in an open manner, respectfully but without holding back. Otherwise, conflicts and resentments fester, sapping motivation and undermining teamwork.
5. Use team talk to ventilate and motivate: Managers can use team meetings to air problems and motivate groups and individuals. In my view, team meetings have their place, but they're like chili peppers—a few add zest to your dish; too many and you're asking for trouble."​

 
Are you building fairness, respect and trust?