What I Learned from Landry, Reeves and Ditka by Robert H. Steele, CLU, ChFC December  2003

 

NAHU member Robert Steele played wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII and also held for extra points and field goals. His accomplishments in the insurance and benefits industry and his management, sales and organizational experiences very much mirror the discipline, single-mindedness and preparation that earned him a position on America’s Team. Mr. Steele is the founder and CEO of PrimeWire, an employee benefits technology company. He is listed as an active member in the Yearbook of Experts for delivering motivational sales speeches to the insurance and financial services industries. He is also noted for his inspirational speech titled “Dream Big Dreams,” which illustrates the steps to achieving innumerous goals. Mr. Steele produced Million-Dollar Round Table production credits every year he was in personal production, beginning in 1981. He was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1988 and served in the Georgia House in 1989 and 1990. He earned his bachelor of science degree in business administration from the University of North Alabama. You can contact him at rsteele@primewire.com.

Twenty-five years ago I graduated from the University of North Alabama with a degree in marketing. I didn’t know it then, but my first job would teach me more about business than I had ever learned in college. It would also help train me for all of my other jobs as well. Everybody’s first job should be like that.

In their particular market, the number-one organization in America offered me the opportunity to try out for employment. They did not guarantee me employment. I had to compete with 15 other people for the same position and work at least 70 hours per week without overtime before I was moved off of probation. The company was the World Champion Dallas Cowboys, who had just beaten the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII in January 1978.

I had played wide receiver in college and was All Gulf-South Conference my senior year. But I was not selected to play in any of the college all-star games. My football days were coming to a close. I was about to graduate and had no clue what I was going to do. Just six weeks from graduation one of my coaches called me into his office to tell me he had a job interview for me. A scout was in town to watch game films. He would put me through some drills and time me in the 40-yard dash. How about that for an initial job interview?

Within six weeks, 69 other free agent players and I had signed contracts to report to work. Along with 12 draft choices, we would fight for exactly five roster spots. Some odds!

Training camp lasted six long, hard weeks. It was a time of testing to determine both if your skills measured up and if you could stand up mentally to the task. Players were asked to learn their positions, all assignments, given new tasks the night before, and asked to perform them the next day without mistakes. Dreams were on the line, every day, and tensions flared.

Sixty-nine players were sent home and told to get a real job. Fortunately for me, I was the only free agent to make the team. Among the several notable players and free agents who did not make the team that year was Brian Billick, now the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. One year later, I was sent off to the Minnesota Vikings. A year after that, I too was told to go find a real job.

But in my first job, I learned more from my manager and supervisors than can be shared in one article. The entire organization was first rate – a real blueprint for success. The people in key positions were given the responsibility to carry out their assignments. I just had to open my eyes and take it all in.

The management structure was very similar to most businesses. Mike Ditka was my manager; his manager was Dan Reeves. Dan Reeves’ boss and my ultimate boss was Tom Landry. I was able to spend time with each, in a variety of situations, and learn from the masters of the business. I did not know that what they were teaching me was about much more than football — it was about business and life in general.

Mike Ditka taught me about having passion for my job. You can only enjoy your work if you pursue it full speed with carefree abandon, and let tomorrow take care of itself. Without Ditka, I would not have learned to go full speed on every play, every day. In games and at practice, he inspired me to work harder, outperform others who were more talented, and make the most of each day. He believed in me and I worked my butt off for him. Ditka taught me about persistence and passion and being aggressive in everything I do. This made me a good football player but a better salesman.

Dan Reeves’ lessons were totally different. He taught me about the mental aspect of the game. Reeves inspired me to become a lifelong learner. His teaching skills and encouragement, combined with his lead-by-example-approach, showed me how to outwork and outsmart the competition. He taught me that talent only goes so far and that a free agent can be as good as or better than a draft choice.

Dan Reeves was a free agent, like me, who grew up near my hometown of Columbus, Georgia.  In fact, he often joked in training camp that it was his family from home, and not he, who was pulling for me to make the team. Dan Reeves taught me to be a good football player but a better manager of people.

Without even knowing he was teaching a course, Tom Landry taught me things not found in any MBA textbook. Landry’s philosophy, as head coach or CEO, was to coach the coaches (his senior staff) and let the coaches take care of coaching their direct reports – the players. This was at times misinterpreted as his being aloof from the players. As CEO, he created the vision, put together the game plan for execution, then trained the coaches on their responsibility to teach their individual players their overall assignments. It’s a winning philosophy. He proved it.

The training camp process was similar to rolling out a new product every year. First, goals had to be established. With input from his coaches and players, Coach Landry would create the team’s goals and write them on a chalkboard. All team members were also responsible for establishing personal goals, which had to be in complete accord with the overall team goals. Once the team goals were established, Landry got buy-in from each team member to be 100% responsible for helping the team accomplish our collective goals.

One of the more interesting learning experiences from my season with the Cowboys came from the motivational thoughts that were posted all over the locker room and practice fields. Landry would use motivational phrases from time to time to emphasize a particular point. At the end of one practice, he was talking about the game plan for the upcoming NFC Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams. One of the players questioned the amount of preparation for a particular play we were working on. Coach Landry paused and said, “I would rather be lucky than good. Isn’t it interesting that the better-prepared team always seems to have the ball bounce their way?”

That idea captures the heart of the Cowboys: Establish goals for every season, put the best team you can on the field, be overly prepared for every situation, know your competition, anticipate every move and take advantage of every opportunity! This is why the Cowboys became known as America’s Team. They were the first to use computers to analyze the tendencies of their opponents. They were adamant in building from within through the draft, not trading for players. And they demanded the utmost from every member of the organization.

Coach Landry taught me how to be a good football player and, more important, how to be a better CEO. He taught me how to lead by getting all levels involved. He taught me how to manage expectations of my direct reports and theirs. He also taught me that proper preparation prevents poor performance.

This on-the-job training in my first job was the best I could have ever received. My sales career, and ultimately my business career, was forever shaped by my first three supervisors.

The ability to participate in a large, dynamically successful organization taught me more about business and life in general than I ever learned in a classroom. I am a better salesman because of Mike Ditka. I am a better manager because of Dan Reeves. I am definitely a better CEO because of Tom Landry.

Earning the right to wear the silver and blue in Super Bowl XIII taught me to respect the game and seize every moment. My business career was forever shaped by Landry, Reeves and Ditka!