Leadership 101- Bo Pelini

Good notes from Bo Pelini on leadership:

Building a Culture:
*#1 Job is coaching your coaches/leaders
*What do you what to be know for?
*You get what you ask for and demand
*Surround yourself with the "right" people
*Committed to the little things (NO gray areas)
*Base principles & accountability
*Win with people- "Coach'em up"
*Leaders don't point the fingers- they point the thumb back at themselves
*Don't leave things open to interpretation
*Give feedback (Honest-Fair-Critical)
*You are who you are in ALL things (Classroom-Practice-Games)

*Coach Pelini spoke extensively about Jerry Rice. He worked with the 49ers early in his coaching career and was simply amazed with Rice's "everyday perfection". He said that he was the absolute best football player he has ever seen. He did everything with perfection on the forefront of his mind. His preparation (in-season & off-season), TEAM relationships, coachability, family, and even in the locker room and training room was done to perfection. Jerry set the bar for the 49ers- who's setting the bar in your organization?

49ers set the model for Pelini

Article in the World Herald on Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini's time with the San Francisco 49ers and the high standards that were developed:

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini learned during his first professional coaching job that a championship-caliber team couldn't afford to waste its opportunities to improve, the reason why he fills every NU practice with unyielding pleas of perfection.He spent three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, where every day was valued and every little detail emphasized.That's where he crafted his definition of hard work.

"I learned about what it was to watch a team give it up in practice every day and practice with the tremendous speed and commitment that was really second to none."

During Pelini's stint with San Francisco, from 1994 to 1996, the 49ers reached a double-digit win total each year. They won the Super Bowl in 1995. But the 49ers, as talented as they were, had a set of expectations to reach each year, Pelini said. It was an environment that demanded relentless effort and created pressure on each member of the organization to perform.

He's hoping to create a similar environment at Nebraska.Pelini said his players are finally beginning to understand what it takes to meet the lofty expectations he and the staff have in place. The players just have to make the conscious decision to fully commit themselves each day.

"Every day counts," Pelini said. "Ultimately, you have to wake up every day and look in the mirror and make a decision to compete every day. It can't be a some-of-the-time thing. You have to make that decision every single day."