High Ten. Martin Rooney
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rewarding, and they win. In High Ten, Martin reinforces all of these lessons and more through a story where two teams – one athletic and one business – grow from good to great by focusing on their culture.
While I was serving as the Commandant of Cadets at the United States Military Academy, our primary and enduring focus was on developing leaders of character. For any future leader, there's much to learn in this book, from appreciating why people are the centerpiece of your culture to ways to empower your people and reap the value of their initiative to understanding and leveraging the “3 Bs” of culture – Beings (who we are), Beliefs (what we stand for), and Behaviors (how we do it) – and, finally, to recognizing the indicators of good culture. Leaders will also learn the significance of “Culture Crusaders,” who perpetuate the culture, and to deeply examine their “Culture Custodians,” coveting the “Culture Keepers” and rooting out the “Culture Vultures.” As I read this book, I highlighted numerous passages, took notes, and reflected on my own efforts at creating cultures over the last 28 years of service. You can never stop studying leadership; it's a lifelong journey of education, experiences, and reflection.
Throughout High Ten, Martin also builds on his previous book, Coach to Coach, and reinforces that great leaders must also see themselves as coaches. He shares important insights on how to coach but also explains how a coach gets the whole team to steward the culture. It starts with the coach setting the foundation – the vision, standards, and expectations – and doing it alongside the players to maximize their ownership. Coaches then focus relentlessly on driving the team to achieve these goals. Martin also subtly reinforces that leadership and coaching are more art than science. The Xs and Os and tactics matter, but he reminds us that ultimately it's the culture that determines success. As Martin writes, “Your competitive advantage is culture.” If you want to learn to be a great coach and how to develop a great culture, then this book is for you!
Brigadier General Curtis A. Buzzard, U.S. Army
The views expressed in the foreword are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense.
Introduction
In today's war for attention, culture is not simply a buzzword. It's your biggest competitive advantage.
Before you worry about building your next program, product, or membership base, be more concerned with building a great culture first. As businesses and organizations learned during the pandemic, when you have a great culture, you are more prepared for big challenges. When you don't, you must be prepared to have more of them.
Everyone wants to feel both appreciated and part of something bigger – to feel part of a cool culture. The way a leader creates this special environment is by creating a culture based in trust, purpose, and fun.
But you may have heard that “culture isn't taught, it's caught.”
High Ten is going to fly in the face of that statement and teach you about culture.
As you will learn, you don't get the culture for which you hope, wait, or wish – you get the one you design, implement, and maintain. And beware – if you don't design your culture, someone else will!
This book is the sequel to Coach to Coach. That book contained my philosophy of how to be a great coach and leader. In High Ten, I build on that information and teach you how a coach creates and leads a great culture. If you liked the easy-to-read style of Coach to Coach, you will enjoy following the journeys of Brian Knight and Marcus Chase 25 years later. Among all the positive feedback about Coach to Coach, the only critique was that the readers wanted more – more depth into the characters, more lessons, and more stories. I believe this book has made good on those requests.
High Ten is a business book, a sports book, and a motivational leadership book too. Although High Ten is a fictional story, the contents of this book are not theory; the information inside was produced through decades of real-life trial and error. Having helped build the cultures of two global businesses that have lasted a combined 40 years, this book was written so you enjoy the same success without making the same mistakes. Everything I have learned about culture from working with top professional and college sport teams, military organizations, and Fortune 500 companies is waiting for you inside.
To be clear, building or changing a culture can be difficult. Whether you are starting a business or already leading a company, team, or family, High Ten provides you with a working roadmap of how to navigate your current cultural challenges. Culture is not a one-time event; it's a never-ending process. And High Ten is your blueprint of how to build a culture that not only stands for something, but also stands the test of time. The question is not whether the culture lessons inside this book work, but whether you will work them. As any culture coach will tell you – what you permit, you promote.
In addition to helping you learn about people, High Ten will also teach you that there is no culture without communication. Do you have a team, leadership, or culture question? Do you have a favorite story or idea from either book? Write me at [email protected], and I look forward to starting a conversation.
I hope that you enjoy this book and, like Brian, Sam, and Marcus, that you never look at culture the same way again.
Giving you a big “High Ten,”
Martin Rooney
Gatlinburg, TN
2021
1 Trackside Diner
“Sorry it's taken so long to get together, Coach. Great to see you,” said Marcus.
“Come on, kid,” responded Brian, “after your big professional career and now becoming the youngest head coach at this prestigious school, I should thank you.”
“Yeah right! As for ‘youngest,' I'm feeling my age. And without you, this wouldn't be possible.”
“Don't go soft on me,” Brian said. “You've got work ahead bringing this place back to glory … and trying to unseat me as the best head coach this place ever had.”
“Whoa!” exclaimed Marcus. “Is that what you call yourself? You know there've been legends here?”
“I know. I didn't want you to think rebuilding this program's gonna be easy. You're inheriting a losing program, and you aren't just inheriting the previous players – you're inheriting the previous problems too.”
“Thanks for the reminder,” Marcus said.
“Remember, Marcus, that's what coaches do. Sometimes it's a pat on the back and sometimes it's a kick in the pants. How's the move been?”
“Liz was nervous, but between my pro career and coaching, this's our fifth move in 24 years. She's knows how it works. The kids are resilient, and actually excited, which made the decision easier.”
“That's great, and I can't wait to see them. Now the big question. How're you feeling?” Brian asked as he took another swig of beer.
“Well, coaching at my alma mater's a dream come true – and the big salary. But honestly, I'm scared. It's my first head job, and along with not feeling prepared, I feel pressured to win. It's not that the president and alumni aren't supportive, but I'm afraid to fail.”
“That fear's a good thing,” said Brian. “Means you care. Beware of when you don't care anymore. That's when you'll wish for something to put fear in your gut.”
As Marcus listened, he realized his old coach was on his second beer. And that he'd been monopolizing the conversation.
“How've you been, Coach? What've you been up to?”
“Well,” Brian sighed, “not much. After Kelly passed and I