Barney’s school is 95% football.
Only one other of his classmates plays rugby.
Which made it odd for his school to be selected for a rugby tournament at Leicester Tigers…
I suspect there was a last-minute dropout given the 48 hrs notice.
But it’s by the by…
Two weeks back I find myself in sunny Leicester…
At an under 10’s touch rugby tournament watching a team where only two players had any knowledge of the rules.
… Or the fact that you must pass backwards.
Anyway, to start with the boys were dire.
Forward passes, hospital passes, and more knock-ons than you could count.
But… slowly they got the hang of it.
In the end, they finished mid-table.
Won four, lose three, drew one.
I was pretty proud of them all.
Apart from one thing…
… One BIG thing that reminded me of why I intensely despise football.
Hearing things like:
“Barney when you score take your top off!’
“Take the L and suck it!”
“Do a griddy at them when we beat them!”
Turns out that when footballers play rugby there is a lot of showboating when you win.
… And in rugby, especially kids’ rugby, showboating ain’t allowed.
Is the goal to win?
Yes.
By fearlessly beating the other team to a bloody pulp when needed…
… But you shake their hand and treat them with respect.
And here’s where it gets interesting…
Because even though Barney knows this is bad behaviour – when influenced by all the others, he got bang into it.
Which brings me to the point of this email today.
You are a product of your environment.
… And your environment will influence the actions you take.
Even when you know they are bad behaviours or bad for business.
In other words…
You must be ruthless about your environment…
… And protect yours at all costs.
It comes back to One Man Empire Iron Law #3:
“Contamination: Avoid the Weak-Willed & Weak-Minded”
Until next time.
Make More. Provide More. Be More.
Charlie Hutton
