I’m a big college basketball fan, especially when it comes to my home state Kentucky Wildcats. Go Big Blue! 🙂
One year ago, I was disillusioned after they were beaten again by a much lower-ranked team in the NCAA tournament and I refused to place my new logo decal on my truck until we had a coaching change. (Yes, I was being petty!)
But just a short time later, Coach John Calipari made the stunning announcement that he decided to leave UK after a 15-year tenure to coach the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Most of Big Blue Nation celebrated the change but we were all concerned about who would become our next coach.
What happened next was unexpected. Kentucky hired Mark Pope, the head coach at Brigham Young University in Utah. Pope was the former captain of UK’s 1996 national championship team, but most of us didn’t know if he was a “big enough” hire to make the impact we desired.
Once he stepped on campus, however, we knew something special was happening.
When Pope left BYU, it left a vacancy in their program for a head coach. Kevin Young was then hired to lead that program forward.
This past weekend was the first weekend of this year’s NCAA tournament and what transpired is a great lesson for us.
All three teams mentioned above are now in the “Sweet 16” which is a huge accomplishment for first-year coaches in any program.
CBS Sports shared this graphic on social media because it was such a big deal:
John Calipari’s surprising move to Arkansas led to the ripple effect of Mark Pope being hired at Kentucky, which led to Kevin Young being hired at BYU. And all three fan bases are now celebrating during March Madness!
What initially led to uncertainty turned into very positive outcomes for all three programs.
Decisions start ripple effects of others to follow. Sometimes there are unintended consequences we couldn’t foresee. Other times, the consequences are predictable.
One change isn’t isolated from others that follow.
I love the question Greg McKeown asks in his book ​“Essentialism”​ –
What ONE decision eliminates 1,000 later decisions?
When we make decisions, movement begins for other changes to happen.
We must make wise choices because of this reality, but we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be paralyzed from deciding because we don’t know how things will ultimately turn out.
That’s where faith comes into play.
We can’t predict the future but we must understand that the decisions we make will certainly impact it.
What ONE decision do you need to make today that will impact many other decisions that will later follow?
Answer that strategically and you’ll experience a positive ripple effect in your life and business.
Until next time, make today GREAT!
Whenever you’re ready, here are two ways I can help you:
- ​The Way to Greatness​ book – Discover the five continual choices that lead to The GREAT Life and how to implement them immediately.
- ​The GREAT Life Bootcamp video course​ – In this self-paced course, I’ll guide you to learn how to experience the life you were created to live by improving your faith, relationships, mindset, stewardship, and time management. (Enter coupon code “MM50” at checkout to receive a subscriber-only 50% discount!)
