Good Morning,
Last week as I drove to the Scottish Society of Louisville’s board meeting, I listened to a local radio station. The DJ was a knowledgeable sportscaster about both the local teams and sports in general. One caller asked a question about why coaches were not more aggressive in sending their team out to win. The DJ had a great response. He said that just about all of the coaches of all college and professional teams generally do not look at winning games the same way as fans and the average arm chair quarterback does.
That most coaches are actually very conservative. They look for the worst case scenarios and plan on overcoming them. Even if they are facing a much weaker opponent the coach will often find the most positive aspect of that team and plan how to confront it conservatively. Even if they are 50 point favorites.
Many coaches use this conservative approach. It is also very different from what we often hear from fans who tell us what they would have done differently. Knowledgeable fans share detailed plans of offense, defense and use of resources which seem very feasible, often making us wonder what was the coach thinking.
Why is there such a gap between the coaches and the fans? The fans seem to make more sense, with the go all-out approach, versus the playing not to lose approach of the coaches.
One of the reasons is that coaches’ own hide is on the line. They are paid to or, at least expected to, win. If they make too many mistakes, they can’t put food on the table. If the fan is wrong, there is little to no repercussions other than maybe losing a bet or two. So why should they hold back? There is little to no repercussions.
This concept also applies to everyday life.
Those who have their ‘skin’ in the game, who, if they make too many mistakes find themselves out of a job, tend to make different decisions than those folks who have nothing on the line.
This is a key factor when asking for advice and doing research in order to make decisions. Following the advice of those who have nothing on the line could be risky. Are those giving advice knowledgeable in that area. Also, do they know the risks to you if their advice is wrong? Do they have any ‘skin’ in the game?
Having your ‘skin’ in the game is often going to change how you feel about something, and how you go about accomplishing a task or activity.
Arm Chair Quarterbacks may seem to have all the right answers after the game is over, but don’t let that confuse you. Stick to what you know to be right, and learn from your mistakes and make improvements. If the advice seems sound, then run with it, if not, toss it.
Enjoy!
Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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