My son and I had just finished watching a college
football team lose a key conference game one hot fall Saturday. I asked
him if he knew at what point the team had lost the game. He recounted
missed field goals, questionable penalty calls and bad play choices by the
offensive coordinator. Our favorite team did not lose that game on that
particular Saturday. They lost it three or four years earlier. This
team had recruited, several years previously, three young men lacking the
character to manage being a football star in the popular conference in which
this team played. Early in their college career, each of them began
making poor choices off the field that caused them to be suspended and
significantly impacted their team in key games. Finally, their lack of
regard and respect for the program that provided them an opportunity for a
college education, caused them all to be dismissed or transfer from the team
only months before the season opener. The coaches had to field an
inexperienced defensive secondary to replace them. The team lost the game
long before it was played when the wrong players were chosen for the team.
Entering the season with great talent at other positions, this team did
not have the defensive secondary to keep their opponents from scoring points.
In the end, poor choices of talent in the beginning led to the team's key
loss and sent them on a trajectory opposite of the outstanding season they
expected.
Character counts. In selecting talent, it is most important.
People can be taught to do a lot of things, but if they have poor
character, skill and talent will not compensate for the negative impact they
can have on an organization. Individuals with strong character can lead
and inspire teams to achieve what talent alone will not. Choose wisely
and begin with character.
