Andrew Carnegie once said, “You may have to move tons of dirt to find a gold nugget, but when you start mining for gold, you overlook the dirt.” And that’s true – I’ve seen the gold mining documentaries (how’s that for research).
Most of your seasons have finished and it’s time to unpack what was good, what was bad, and what can be learned for next year. Well, this week, we’ll be sending out a newsletter (sign up here) that breaks down everything you should do for your Season Autopsy, complete with a worksheet to help you do it, but today I want to introduce an pre-autopsy exercise.
It’s much too easy to focus on all the dirt of the season: the mistakes, the losses, the failures. And, we’ll definitely be going through that dirt in the autopsy process searching for those hidden golden specks, but right now I want you to forget about the dirt.
There are plenty of victories in plain view.
So, get out a pad of paper and a pen (or, open a document on your laptop) and write down 50 victories you and your team achieved this season. Those victories can be obvious – records, awards, important wins, last second shots. Or, they can be subtle – a raised GPA, community impact, a respectful encounter, improved team culture. Really, they can be anything that resonates with you and your players. Take the time to go through the season and write them down.
50 may come easily to some (and if that’s the case, do 100). For others it may be more difficult. Regardless, it will be worth it. You will learn from it and hopefully walk away with an added confidence that the season was a success.
In the Season Autopsy to come, we’ll ask the tough questions and start processing all that dirt. It will force you to examine your failures in order to improve for next season (and that too will be worth it). When that process is over, no matter what you reveal, you’ll still have this list of 50 to fall back on.
PS: The Season Autopsy newsletter with worksheet is going out this week so if you want those tools, sign up today.
