T.E.A.M: Together Everyone Achieves More
- cysdsites
- May 21, 2015
- 3 min read
The four-year collegiate head coach veteran, James Franklin, left his position at Vanderbilt University to take over the head coaching position at Penn State in January, 2014. He signed under a six-year contract, making $4.3 million for the 2014 season. In his first season at Penn State, Franklin led the Lions through a 7-6 season, along with a 2-6 conference mark and a win over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl.
On Wednesday, April 22, Franklin was the keynote speaker at The Manufacturers’ Association meeting, held at the Pullo Center in Penn State York. The association’s 109th annual event, titled: “Leading for Success,” highlighted the parallels between being successful in the manufacturing world and being successful on the football field. Franklin outlined on how his expectations for himself, his coaching staff and his players all complement each other to make Penn State’s football team successful.
Before trying to lead an entire staff and a football team, Franklin said he first focuses on controlling the one thing he has most control over. Himself. “As a head coach, you have to stay true to who you are. I wake up every morning to be the best at everything I do.” Franklin also said that while there is sure to be more talented and “better-looking” people than himself, no one in the country will outwork him.
Franklin said he expects the same amount of effort to be put forth by the other coaches. He mentioned the daily 7 a.m. meetings he has with his staff: “It is important to understand the people you’re working with. I like to make sure we are all on the same positive and consistent page.” Together, Franklin and the other Penn State coaches help to foster caring relationships within the team. “I have two daughters and 125 sons,” said Franklin. “They need to know how much [their coaches] really care about each and every one of them. Every speech I give starts with ‘I love you’ and ends with ‘I love you.'”
After expressing his love for his “sons,” Franklin said he then begins every team meeting by having one of the players recite the quote: “Give of yourself completely, ask for nothing in return and success shall be yours.” He said this gets the team in the mindset of their four core values: positive attitudes, work ethic, competition and sacrifice.
Positive attitudes among his players are important to Franklin because he believes attitudes dictate actions. “We’re worried about how they perceive themselves before we’re worried about external perception,” said Franklin. He added that a positive attitude relies mostly on how you view things. Another quote the coach displays on each of his power points during team meetings is: “opportunityisnowhere,” with no spaces or capitalized letters. Franklin said that some people may read the quote as, “Opportunity is nowhere.” However, he added that after instilling a positive outlook in his team, they read the quote as, “Opportunity is now here.”
When teaching his team work ethic, Franklin said he stresses the importance of paying attention to detail. “It is important that they do the little things well because that is what success is about,” said Franklin, adding that after mastering the little things, the bigger things tend to come more naturally. “The most successful people are the people who do the little things better than anyone and these boys came to Penn State to be the best.”
Next, Franklin challenges his team to compete at everything they do, no matter what it is. Franklin said he tells them, “If you go home after the bowl game for Christmas break and your little cousin wants to play checkers with you…whoop his butt.” He said competing may not always mean winning, but if you don’t compete, you’ll never win.
The fourth and final core value to Penn State football is sacrifice. “It’s amazing when you figure out in life that the more you give to others, it’ll come back to you in tenfold,” said Franklin. “Shared sacrifice brings strength and chemistry to the team, he added. Franklin said he asks his players everyday if they’re willing to sacrifice the things that the average person won’t to be special.
Franklin said he believes that all his players share these common values and that no player is less special than the next; “Every role on our team is imperative to getting what we want.” And what is it that they want? Franklin replied, “We focus on the process of being successful, not the end result.” Franklin also said that because of this, he doesn’t believe in goal setting. “What happens when you reach your goal? Most people quit.” Instead of goal setting, Franklin focuses on the steps that will lead to success because they can then be applied over and over. He said he has his players work more on thinking positively, working hard, competing intensely and making sacrifices as a team because, “Together everyone achieves more.”