Quarterbacks and CEOs

With the fourth quarter half over in Superbowl LXII, and the Patriots trailing by 3, Patriot quarterback Tom Brady found himself on his own 20 yard line. Brady got a first down, and then another, but with less than six minutes left, the TV commentators were calling it a two-possession ball game – Brady could be sure that if he couldn’t keep the drive going to a touchdown or a field goal, the Giants would run out the clock when they got the ball. It was genuinely do or die.

I was riveted watching Brady’s cool and precision and he marched the ball down the field. He’d already been sacked more than once by the Giants’ defense, but he somehow must have put that out of his mind – that, and the huge pressure on him with every play. He stayed focused, called the right plays, found his receivers when he was passing. It was terrifically impressive.

And then it was Eli Manning’s turn. The Giants were behind by four, so a field goal was useless, a tie and overtime impossible. The only way the Giants could win was for Manning to engineer a touchdown. A much bigger challenge than Brady faced, and he had less than three minutes to accomplish it, and just as far to go. And like Brady, Manning stayed focused, called the right plays, and executed them masterfully, improvising brilliantly when his line didn’t hold as well as he would have liked.

Amazing performances by both of them, and I couldn’t help thinking what exemplary CEOs they were. A great quarterback has to know his own team’s strengths and weaknesses, and he has to know almost as much about his competition’s. He has to see what’s happening around him, take into account past experience at the same time he’s anticipating what’s ahead and how his choices will fit into a changing environment. The he’s got to pick a course of action and execute it faithfully, all the while staying aware of everything that’s happening around him so he can adjust for the unexpected. Not only that, but he has to keep everyone on his team focused on getting the job done, keep everyone going and inspired to do their best, even when the hurdles ahead seem insurmountable.

Just like a CEO.

Comments

[Dirnov]

Hi there,
Not sure that this is true) but thanks

Have a nice day
Dirnov