Welcome to the Week... What Winning Really Looks Like

Years ago, I heard Coach Nick Saban speak. Someone asked him, what his approach was to defending his National Championships?? He said, “What do you mean? There’s nothing to defend — yesterday’s success is over and done. Every season is it's own body of work. There is absolutely nothing to defend. We won and it's over."

A winning mindset means focusing forward, not back. Tom Brady echoes this with a simple answer to a question asked, “Tom, which Super Bowl was your favorite?” His reply: “The next one.” For champions, it’s always about what’s next—never about resting on the past.

This is something I have been struggling with of late. You hear so much about celebrating the successes AND then you hear about how winners immediately turn their attention to the next opportunity to win.

My sense is that winning isn’t a trophy we keep on the shelf; it’s a daily pursuit that demands discipline, teamwork, and humility.

We’ve all seen teams that rest on past wins and get complacent after a strong result, only to be blindsided by the next challenge that they should have easily overcome. The key is humility, grit, and remembering that we win in all businesses and organizations because of our collective work.

“Owning winning” means no one person shoulders the victory, just as no one person shoulders a loss. It’s a shared journey, with everyone playing a part. Owning winning is also about owning HOW you win.

As I thought more about this, Yes, winning should be recognized, celebrated and then isolated to its own with an understanding of why you won to learn for the future.

What Saban also says is “Practice like you’ve never won. Play like you’ve never lost.”

The fact is, it is all a mindset. When you win, do you endlessly talk about it and rest on that victory or do you follow the above? Think about the High School football champion who is still talking about 20 years after it happened.

Let's take pride in each moment, each achievement, and each small victory along the way AND let's own how we win. As you turn your attention to this week, reflect on how you will win with 8 weeks left in the year.

Go Feed Your Journey,

David