Great By Choice

By on

In finishing the book Great By Choice by Jim Collins and Morten Hanson, a book I was inspired to read by hearing a presentation by NFL Referee and CEO of ArbiterSports, Jeff Triplette.

Great companies, leaders, teachers and, yes, officials choose to be so. Yes, there are elements of luck that come in to play but in this book it is detailed how luck is usually 50/50 good to bad.

My interest was peaked because the writers place a practical application to the famous Amundsen expedition to the South Pole, in this book known as the 20 mile marcher.

More on that at a later time. In the very first chapter principles are laid out to aid the reader in how to be great and the choice that is made to get us there. From an officials standpoint and I adapt from the book, imagine you are hiking on a beautiful spring day – of course as I look out my window and see yet another Winter storm – we would all love a spring day, the trail is fairly easy, weather is perfect and there is no threat of bad weather. The competency and experience of the guide is not of a major concern, as long as he can lead you from A to B, he is “great.”

Let’s change the equation a little, you are hiking on what starts out to be a beautiful summer day, temperatures are perfect, no threat of bad weather, when you start. Your guide is a professional who has prepared for almost any possibility. As the day progresses, your guide feels the change in the wind, sees the cloud formations off the peaks and knows that what started out as a beautiful summer day may now possibly turn into a completely different event. Inexperienced, you want to push on but your guide is there to tell you that you have to go down, your goal unattained and you have to do it quickly. He safely leads you to safety to try again another day. The inexperienced press on and get caught in the elements, every step becomes more dangerous. Knowledge and preparation, not luck, is what makes the difference.

From an officiating standpoint, it is easy to work with the veteran official in a contest with relatively little controversy or “tough” calls. It is when the storm brews during the game that the veteran, who has the knowledge, experience and done his preparation, leads you to safety. That is not luck, nor is it the ever growing “good ol boy network.” It is developed in years of preparation and work.

Leave a comment