Why do we prepare for meetings? Because we want to put ourselves in position to be aggressive when the biggest opportunities are in front of us!
In honor of the Super Bowl this weekend (#RamsGoodKarma), I am re-sharing one of the greatest moments in Super Bowl history. A moment that taught us the importance of being prepared, trusting yourself and being aggressive.
The moment was Malcolm Butler’s interception from Russell Wilson in the final seconds of Super Bowl 39. The thing I love about that moment is that there is a business lesson to be learned from one of the most unlikely Super Bowl heroes in the biggest moment.
Malcolm Butler began his career as an undrafted rookie, which means three things:
a. He probably won’t make an NFL team.
b. If he makes the team, he won’t get much playing time.
c. If he makes the team and he gets playing time, it’s because the team is really, really bad.
None of the above was the case with Malcolm Butler. He worked hard, prepared intensely, and aggressively went after opportunities. His hard work earned him the right to be a backup cornerback on arguably the most successful sports franchise in the last 20 years IN THE SUPER BOWL!
The Scene: After winning their first three Super Bowls early in the Tom Brady (Quarterback) and Bill Belichick (coach) era, the Patriots are about to lose for the third consecutive time in the Super Bowl and all the previous losses happened at the end of the game. The game is about to follow that exact script. Their opponents (Seattle Seahawks) have the ball near the goal line. All they have to do is run the ball and the Patriots defense will do everything they can to stop it…but probably won’t be able to. And the ending seems eminent.
Here is what happened: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7rPIg7ZNQ8.
The Seahawks ended up calling a pass play. It caught everyone off guard…except Malcolm Butler. He was so prepared that he knew what was about to happen. Watch it again at this other link below and see how quickly and aggressively Butler makes a break for where the ball is being going to be. The link has regular and half speed. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2pguzs. If Butler was wrong, he would be on the wrong side of a highlight video for the rest of his life and his Hall of Fame coach and Hall of Fame QB would see him in their nightmares. If he was not ready to react immediately to what he saw, he would not get there in time. His preparation allowed him to react to the situation with a confidence and aggressiveness that produced one of the greatest plays in American Sports History.
What lessons can we learn from Malcolm Butler?
1. Prepare Use your resources to gain a deep knowledge and understanding of your customers and future customers. You might not have game film to look at or a Hall Of Fame Quarterback to ask, but you do have Google, LinkedIn, social media and company websites to study.
2. Trust Yourself Malcolm Butler trusted his instincts in the biggest moment of his career. He was able to do this because he was prepared.
3. Be Aggressive When you see an opportunity you worked hard for, go and get it!
When you prepare, prepare, prepare, trust your instincts and are aggressive… you will put yourself in position to win more AND you will win more.
