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Football’s two-minute drill provides inspiration for latest book by UT professor |
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Jan 18, 2008 |
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| Authors, from left, Dr. Clint Longenecker, Greg Papp and Timothy Stansfield huddle up for a photo in UT's Larimer Athletic Complex. |
By definition a cliché is overused. However, in the case of a new book comparing effective rapid organizational improvement to football’s high-speed two-minute drill, the comparison helps those business leaders who double as football fans realize they may know more than they think about rapid change once they consider the analogy.
In
The Two-Minute Drill: Lessons for Rapid Organizational Improvement From America’s Greatest Game, business leaders are asked to assume the role of quarterback.
Down on the scoreboard, late in the game and with a long way to go, managers increasingly are being looked to for the same miracles fans expect of NFL greats, said author Dr. Clint Longenecker, Stranahan Professor of Leadership and Organizational Excellence at The University of Toledo. It’s an analogy echoed in the book’s foreword, written by Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis.
“It can be extremely difficult to throw out a business plan or model in which you’ve invested time and resources, even as things are going poorly,” Longenecker said. “But in the 21st century, business requires managers with the courage and the ability to implement a new game plan quickly, efficiently and often under enormous pressure.”
Longenecker and co-authors Greg P. Papp, president of Cube Culture Inc., and Timothy C. Stansfield, IET Inc., identify a two-minute drill model managers should look to during organizational improvement efforts. These include:
• Coming energized to play;
• Seizing control of the game;
• Communicating above the roar of the crowd;
• Demonstrating extreme time sensitivity;
• Making adjustments quickly;
• Having the courage to take a hit but avoid the sack; and
• Finding a way to win.
Longenecker said the sense of urgency that comes with a two-minute drill organizational change can be the most effective way for business to stay agile in an organizational world that requires constant adaptation and flexibility.
“Organizations expend a great deal of energy planning for change and improvement without effective and rapid execution,” Longenecker wrote.
And perhaps most importantly, he said, just as in football, leaders who aren’t able to secure the win don’t last very long.
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