Since Father’s Day is Sunday, we thought we’d share some “dadmiration” and give you the opportunity to do the same.
“Any man can be a father, it takes someone special to be a dad.”
– Author unknown
Here are three things we each admire about our dads:
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By Bigg Success Staff
01-09-08
Life Skills
Planning is certainly important to set your direction. Analysis is necessary, but a lot of people take it too far. At some point, you just have to do it.
A recent post, by the great Tom Peters, entitled Don’t Know Where You’re Going? So What? deserves your attention.
In the post, he talks about O.O.D.A. loops – a concept developed by United States Air Force Colonel John Boyd. OODA is an acronym for:
Observe
Orient
Decide
Act
Boyd contends that a military advantage can be gained if you work through this loop faster than your adversary. In today’s rapidly changing world, this concept applies to you as well.
Get in the loop!
The four processes in Boyd’s model are overlapping and interacting. That’s why you gain an advantage by getting in the loop.
As you move through the loop, you constantly receive new information. Feedback that you don’t get if you never act. You’re able to use that feedback to adapt. And that’s what gives you an advantage – you know things that the “analyzers” haven’t discovered.
You can’t know everything before you make a decision. You can conduct surveys, interviews, focus groups, or any number of other things. But they’re all speculative … conjecture … hypothesis.
When you take action, you get real facts. Hard evidence. Things you only get by taking action.
Step up to the plate!
Spring training for the upcoming baseball season is just around the corner. So we couldn’t resist a baseball analogy!
Nothing happens until you step up to the plate. Now, when you’re at bat, you might strike out – or you might hit a home run! The greatest home run hitters in history were usually also the kings of strike outs.
That’s the point – by taking action, you won’t always succeed. However you will learn from your mistakes, won’t you? The most successful people have usually fallen flat on their face a time or two. That’s part of the process.
So get in the action faction and you’ll get traction! Do something – even if it’s wrong. Fail forward; learn from your mistakes. Adapt. Then move on. You’re more likely to meet with bigg success!
Hear today's lesson and laugh on The Bigg Success Show.
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By Bigg Success Staff
December 14, 2007
Success Stories
Babe Ruth, the legendary home-run hitter, would occasionally point his bat at the spot where he planned to hit the next pitch. Similarly, Jamie McCourt predicted where she would be now over forty years ago.
At the age of nine, she informed her parents that one day she would buy a baseball team. That little girl’s dream became reality, when she and her husband purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004.
Today, Jamie is the Vice Chairman and President of the organization. She serves on numerous Boards in the Los Angeles area. She is the highest ranking female in baseball, and considered one of the most powerful women in all of sports.
Play ball
Even as a young girl, Jamie was competitive. She was a gifted athlete, who could show the boys a thing or two. The tomboy developed confidence in herself from these early experiences. Confidence in her ability to do anything she wanted to do – regardless of her sex.
Player – coach
Her father owned a chain of appliance stores. He was an off-the-wall promotional hypester. So retail is in her blood. She learned from her father and has taken his lessons to a new level. When it comes to hawking your goods, there are few venues as large as your own ball park.
Warning track
Jamie’s educational credentials are top-notch. A Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown. A diploma from La Sorbonne at the University of Paris. A University of Maryland law degree, and a Master’s from the MIT Sloan School of Management, which she completed at the ripe young age of 39.
While there, she couldn’t find a single professor to sponsor her proposed thesis. She wanted to research the economics of buying a baseball team or building a ball park. They warned her that she would be better served by focusing on Wall Street.
But the little girl, who by now was a woman, was not discouraged. She was about to step up to the plate.
Striking Out
Jamie started her career in 1979 as an attorney in New York City. She moved to Boston and opened her own practice. In 1994, she became the Vice President and General Counsel at The McCourt Company, a real estate development firm started by her husband.
Seven years later, Jamie’s opportunity presented itself. She and her husband tried to buy the Boston Red Sox in 2001. But it was not meant to be – she struck out.
Grand Slam
The greatest players never give up. Jamie is a great player. She and her husband learned the Dodgers were for sale. They purchased the Dodgers at the highest price ever paid for a professional ball team.
The little girl had a dream. As a woman, she had stepped up to the plate and struck out. Then she tried again … and hit a grand slam.
Hear today's lesson and laugh on The Bigg Success Show.
Sources:
Los Angeles Dodgers official site
MIT Sloan School of Management Alumni Profiles
“How One Woman Went To Bat in Pro Baseball” by Francesca Donner, WSJ Online
“McCourt brings ideas, hectic pace to L.A.” by Jill Lieber, USA Today
