The principal of the high school happens to be a friend of ours.  We commented about the new bleachers, new fences along the first and third base lines, new sidewalks around the bleachers, and evergreens behind the bleachers.

Today, I am thankful for parents and other community members who work hard to support and benefit local schools.

The principal proceeded to tell us that the athletic boosters paid for the enhancements.  They have been working on a master plan for a few years to get the field ready and compliant with the requirements to host high school tournaments.  The parents have raised a lot of money and have donated some of their own.  They also invested “sweat equity” in many ways from planting trees to pouring and raking concrete.  No tax dollars were used in these improvements.

They still have a ways to go until their work is done, but the hope is that by next year, they will qualify as a host school.  Margaret Mead is often quoted as saying, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”  Indeed.

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In honor of the start of the major league baseball season, this week’s Tuesday Tidbit post included several baseball quotes that can also be applied to the workplace.  After reading the message at work, one of my team members sent me the following email:

You are just a wonder, El.  This one really sums up the Client Services ‘world’ you created/maintained here at (the office), and it really can’t be stated much better:

“Be on time. Bust your butt. Play smart. And have some laughs along the way.” -Whitey Herzog

You know what?  I’m thankful to be described that way!

What sports quote would describe your leadership style?  Or, maybe a sports movie title?

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Every strike brings me closer to the next home run. -Babe Ruth

The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime. -Babe Ruth

You can learn little from victory. You can learn everything from defeat. -Christy Mathewson

You owe it to yourself to be the best you can be – in baseball and in life. -Pete Rose

If you can’t outsmart people, outwork them -Bill Veeck

Don’t worry about your individual numbers, worry about the team. If the team is successful, each of you will be too. -Branch Rickey

Be on time. Bust your butt. Play smart. And have some laughs along the way. -Whitey Herzog

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

I have missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot .. and missed.  And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why… I succeed.  -Michael Jordan

A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals. -Larry Bird

Sometimes a player’s greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team. -Scottie Pippen

We try to stress the little things because little things lead to big things. -Steve Alford

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

In addition to the individual players, the National Footbal League itself views community service as a “fundamental responsibility to uphold our legacy of community engagement and the highest standards of excellence.” -Roger Goodell

NFL Charities is a non-profit organization created by the 32 member clubs of the National Football League to enable the teams to collectively make grants to charitable and worthwhile causes on a national scale…

NFL Charities primary funding categories include:

• Sports-related medical research & education grants
• Player foundation grants in support of the philanthropic work of current and former NFL players
• Financial assistance for former NFL players in need via direct support to the NFL Player Care Foundation
• Impact grants to support national youth health and fitness’ education initiatives as part of a league-wide commitment to fight childhood obesity
• Team program grants which supplement the charitable and community activities of the 32 NFL clubs

What is your local team doing?

Click HERE, scroll to the bottom of the page and click your team’s logo. Below are the highlights of the team I’m hoping will win this year’s Super Bowl; the New York Giants!

The Giant strongly support the NFL’s “Play 60 Challenge,” encouraging children to be physically active at least 60 minutes a day. In partnership with the American Heart Association the NFL hopes to reduce childhood obesity. Players visit locals schools, inspiring children of all ages to be more active.

The team participates in “Rock & Wrap It Up,” collecting prepared but unserved food from the stadium and distributing it to The Bowery Mission in Manhattan, providing about 13,000 meals each year. The players also serve holiday meals at The Food Bank For A New York City, distribute groceries at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, and serve food at Eva’s Kitchen.

The Giants share the NFL’s emphasis on health and wellness by publicizing the need for organ donors, working with New Yrok Presbyterian hospital. Players mingle with blood donors at an annual blood drive. The Giants have also teamed up with Hackensack University Medical Center to raise funds for “Touchdown Fund: Score for Kids, Cardiac and Cancer.”

Throughout the year, the Giants positively impact the tri-state area by participating in many great events:

• Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• suppporting the United Way
• the Wounded Warrier Project
• Read Across America
• Make-A-Wish Foundation
• Special Olympics
• and many more.

Unfortunately, we don’t hear a lot about the charitable work that teams and players do. Take a few minutes and check out what your team is doing. They may not win every football game, but their communities win every time through their efforts. Good organizations, good people, doing good work.

Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.

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Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.

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Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing-the result.

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The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

In 1990, a seminary intern delivered this simple prayer: “Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without a bowl of soup to eat.”

Out of that prayer, Souper Bowl of Caring was born.  The idea was to use the energy and publicity around the Super Bowl to drive social good.  Church youth groups and other organizations across the country collected canned goods and dollars (in soup pots!), and then donated those items to a local charity of their choice.

That first year, 22 churches in Columbia, SC collected $5700.  Since then, the Souper Bowl of Caring has received the endorsements of NFL team owners, the NFL Super Bowl, and even the White House.  So far this year, $2.1 million has already been recorded, with Houston leading the way at over $800 thousand.

If you are hosting a Super Bowl Party next Sunday, why not make it a Souper Bowl Party?  Ask your fellow football fans to bring a canned food item to donate.  Instead of exchanging bets on the game, have a soup pot available to collect those dollars and add them to your donation.  Print this certificate and include it when you drop off your items at your favorite food pantry, so they know you participated in this event.

This is a really easy way to take a fun social gathering, draw attention to a local community need and make a positive difference.  I hope the Giants win the Super Bowl, but I also hope many hunger fighting communities win the Souper Bowl.

Much has already been written about the current scandal involving former Penn State football coaches; the sexual abuse of young boys by one, and the subsequent failure to report and/or take morally appropriate action by other coaches and university leaders.  But, what lessons can we learn about leadership?  Here are links to three articles published over the last few days in the leadership section of CBS Moneywatch.com (one of my favorite sites!).

An Abuse of Power?  Lessons From Penn State, written by John Baldoni, published November 9.

Penn State Scandal: You Can’t Teach Leaders Morality, written by Steve Tobak, published November 10.

How Penn State Can Recover From Scandal, written by John Baldoni, also published November 10.

Newslink: Leadership features articles about the development and practice of leadership skills in today’s business world.

What a lofty goal, one person trying to get 400,000 people to donate to anything! And, vowing not to blog until that goal is reached? What a statement this person is making!

I wondered who or what in the world this @fugeesfamily could be, to inspire such passion. So, I clicked on the link and it took me to Marjorie Clayman‘s blog, “Social Media, Marketing and Musings,” and specifically to her Oct. 23 post titled, “A Blogging Hiatus Till We Get This Done.”

Before I knew it, I clicked through links to make a $12.00 donation to the Fugee Family!

The Fugee (as in refugee) Family unites children, who have survived war in countries all around the world, through the universal game of soccer. Coach Luma Mufleh has created a safe and structured environment for these children, based in sport, education, family and citizenship. There are expectations – a contract, in fact - of proper manners, attending practice, attended tutoring, attending school and appropriate dress and language. In the last five years, Coach Luma expanded the program’s offerings to include “year round soccer for 86 boys and girls ages 10-18, tutoring and after-school soccer for 50 elementary school children, a private academy serving 36 children and an academic enriching summer camp.”

What’s next for Coach Luma and the Fugee Family? That’s where your $12 gift comes in. (Of course, you can give even more, or donate items on this wish list.)

Coach Luma wants to do even more for these children. She wants to create a Fugee Village. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it takes money to build a village. I encourage you to learn more about the Fugees and then help Coach Luma’s dream become a reality.

I gave. I hope you will to. Imagine the possibilities!

At one point, Beane goes to the home of Scott Hatteberg, a player that all the other teams thought was washed up. Scotty used to be a catcher, but an elbow injury and surgery meant he couldn’t throw the baseball any more. But, what he could do was get on base. Here is generally how part of the conversation went:

Beane: I don’t care about your elbow. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve thrown your last ball from behind the plate. I want you at first.

Scotty: But, I’ve been a catcher my whole life.

Beane: Well, you aren’t anymore. Do you want to play for the Oakland Athletics? Then you’re going to play first base.

Scotty: But,

Beane: You don’t know how to play first base. Of course you don’t. We’re going to teach you. We are going to teach you.

I’m not giving away the rest of the movie by telling you that Scotty accepted the offer. He still wanted to play baseball. He struggled a lot at first. Even though Scotty had been playing the game since he was a kid and had been a good catcher, it was really hard to play well in a completely new position.

Guess what, though? He learned. He changed. Scotty became an adequate first baseman, but more importantly, scored a lot of runs. And, scoring runs is what helped the team win games.

I was so struck by this interaction that I pulled out a pad of paper and pen in the theater and scribbled as much as I could recall. What a great lesson for us all!

Things change. We are sometimes asked to take on new roles. New leadership may have a new way of playing the game. They might think that different things should be a priority. But in the end, if you can approach the game with an open mind, play to your strengths, trust the new vision, and come together as a team, chances are you’ll win the game.

In baseball or business.

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and hopefully, motivational. I hope you find some meaning in them.