Urban Meyer at summit: ‘Empower your people, give them ownership’
The speaker kicking off the final day of the Center for Operational Excellence’s Leading Through Excellence summit needed no introduction.
Just days out from the spring game, Buckeyes Head Football Coach Urban Meyer joined the sold-out crowd of more than 400 attendees at the summit to share his insights on leadership and team-building at Ohio State, his 2012 return he called coming back to “a school I love, a state I love, really a dream.”
Here are highlights of his keynote:
On his mentors, Earle Bruce and Lou Holtz: “I’m humbled to say those two are my mentors, and I wouldn't be here today without them. That’s how much I love those guys and appreciate what they taught me.”
On his philosophy of any team, inside or outside sports: “Every group has a breakdown of 10-80-10. That first 10 percent are the elite, the core of any organization. The 80 percent are average, and then you have the bottom 10 percent: the defiant, the disinterested. We want to harness the power of the elite, grow the 80, and eliminate the bottom 10.”
On transforming the average into the elite: “You have to empower your people, give them ownership somehow.”
On motivation: “If your people deep down think you can make them great, you can coach harder and demand more. That person has to believe they can be great and you have to sell that.”
On the importance of alignment: “When you’re dealing with masses of people, you have to be very clear on the purpose of your organization and the alignment has to be very good. You have to make sure your mission statement, alignment and culture are so clear that if people don’t operate in that culture, it’s insubordination. In so many organizations, it’s a gray area.”
On benchmarking: “Always learn. There’s always someone out there doing a great job with something.”
Looking for more on the 2017 summit? Check out a recap of keynote Don Sull and a look back at the entire event in pictures.
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