"Let’s get one thing clear right now, shall we? There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers; good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky: two previously unrelated ideas come together and make something new under the sun. Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up." - Stephen King in On Writing
One great reason to read a lot is cross-pollination. A cardinal lands on your garage, then RECALL the wild turkey that did. Why couldn't the next visitor be a pterodactyl or at least a turkey vulture? In Empire of the Summer Moon, S.C. Gwynne shares that the Texas Rangers learned to track Comanches by observing circling vultures. Are vultures circling OUR program? What would they be?
The vultures could come from above (administration), within (selfishness, our own stubbornness, or weakness), or below (lack of fresh talent). Chuck Daly said, "the wolves are always at the door."
We've discussed the pre-mortem examination, the 'what could go wrong' look before the leap. Can we steal from other sports?
Nick Saban uses pilates to promote flexibility in his football team. Nothing stops us from doing the same.
Prior to his Triple Crown "Impossible Dream" baseball season, Carl Yastrzemski began intensive training including lifting weights. In those days, many people believed weight training hurt flexibility. Yaz responded with an MVP season, lifting the perennial doormat Red Sox to an American League pennant. But Free Agency became the catalyst for both training and the Steroid Era. Weight training is a staple for every serious athlete.
Mindfulness was the province of eastern mystics and other "snowflakes." Except that Olymic champions and NBA stars like Kobe, Michael, and LeBron adopted the practice for sustainable competitive advantage. Google's Meng Tan brought it to the public with Search Inside Yourself.
Football uses a variety of pick plays from basketball. What signals can football send amidst the noise, realizing 1) we have three-level scoring (like the three levels of the passing game) and 2) defenses employ man or zone coverage?
First, we aren't limited to one forward pass. And we can use a player as either a blocker or a receiver.
Just as in football, we can put our receiver in motion, and then "leak" her out of the "backfield."
We can show the same formation, then run "rub routes" (brush screen).
Or we can change the alignment (e.g. into horns) and run similar screening action and get a mismatch even if we don't get a free cutter.
Brad Stevens discusses the impact of nutrition, weights, and the training room on Jayson Tatum.
One of our jobs is leveraging the impact ideas that are right in front of us. Forget about Old School and New Age. Just find a better way.
