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Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis might be better equipped to win games and influence people after hearing Zig Ziglar.
His team is underachieving. His attitude needs adjusting. His people skills need reshaping. His leadership needs fine-tuning. It's time for Marvin Lewis to GET MOTIVATED. Zig Ziglar and his crew of Yes! men are here to help, judging from a full-page advertisement in yesterday's Dispatch. For a total investment of just $4.95 -- or only $19 for the entire Bengals coaching staff -- Lewis can learn to: • Get ahead and (more important, given the outcome of the past two games) stay ahead; • Draft a clear blueprint for success (it's called developing a capable defense); • Persuade (fans and media) that you know what you're doing (even if you don't).
Lewis has reached a plateau as an NFL coach since Mike Brown hired him in 2003. Hailed as a savior after an 8-8 record that first season, Lewis is 28-24 since, including 0-1 in the playoffs. Over the past 16 games -- the equivalent of a full season -- the Bengals are 6-10. That hardly cuts it in the NFL, where parity provides the opportunity to succeed beyond your wildest dreams. Ziglar's lineup -- which includes Colin Powell; Steve Forbes; Dr. Robert Schuller; Archie Griffin and George Ross, right-hand man to Donald Trump -- undoubtedly understands what Lewis and the Bengals need to go from inconsistent win-losers into consistent win-winners. Powell, whose specialty is leadership, could convince Lewis that leading is different from managing. Among Powell's power points: • How to remain focused in a crisis. Lewis froze in a loss Sunday in Seattle. He attempted a two-point conversion instead of the one-point kick after Cincinnati scored to take a 21-17 lead with 2:42 remaining. The rationale? If Seattle scored, which it went on to do, the score would remain tied if the Bengals could block the Seahawks' PAT attempt. Lewis failed to consider that by failing on the two-point conversion, the Bengals would need a field goal just to tie. Business expert Forbes could help Lewis finesse his people skills: • The customer is always right. Lewis' assertion that the media don't deserve answers -- "I'm not going to try to explain it. That's our business," he said after a 51-45 loss to Cleveland two weeks ago -- is a slap at fans who rely on the media for information, the fans who shell out part of their paychecks to support the team. Forbes would point out that Lewis' patronizing and condescending attitude toward his "customers" is no way to conduct business. Goal-achievement guru Schuller could teach Lewis: • It's not how you start but how you finish. The bright side? The Bengals are 1-2 but have plenty of time to turn things around. The remaining nondivision schedule after Monday's game against New England is soft as cotton. Closing well, however, is not a given. Last season, the Bengals lost their last three games; a win in any of the three would have secured a playoff spot. Griffin's humility and lack of arrogance wins him friends and admirers: • "He's a better young man than a football player, and he's the best football player I've ever seen," former Ohio State coach Woody Hayes said of Griffin. Lewis' ego is enormous, which is fine except when it escapes. He's going to need friends someday. When that day arrives, he might regret mistreating the media. Ross is a no-nonsense salesman whose negotiation strategies net results: • Seal the deal without appeal. The Bengals' off-field problems of a year ago suggest that Lewis' "my way or the highway" message was getting lost in translation. So far this season, the police blotter is mostly blank. Now, if Lewis can just get the defense to do the right thing, which brings us to … Ziglar is a master motivator, and he is big on: • Putting people in position to succeed. The Bengals' defenders often can't get into the right position, period. Lewis arrived in Cincinnati as a defensive genius, yet the defense has been the weak link. Does he know talent when he sees it (other than when he looks in the mirror)? Spending an hour with Zig and his zero-failure guys should do the trick for Lewis. If not -- well, it's none of our business. Right, Marvin? Columbus Dispatch http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2007/09/27/oller27.ART_ART_09-27-07_C1_DD81AGK.html?sid=101 |
