Hawaii Union Finals

This Saturday is the finals for the Hawaii State Rugby Union. The Islanders will be playing UH at 4:30 pm at Kapiolani Park.

Good luck to everyone.

The following week will be select side trials. More info on that as it comes in.

Promises...

This is prompted by a discussion and posts by Just Call Me Coach, and is another example of Business Lessons from the Rugby Pitch (the title of one of my upcoming books).

There are two related issues that I want to discuss; the recruitment of players from a competitor, and making promises of advancement to players.

The recruitment of players in itself is not an issue. It’s a natural part of the game. Colleges recruit players from high schools, club teams recruit players from colleges, and higher level teams recruit players from lower level teams. The issues arise when the recruitment methods are questionable, or clearly cross ethical lines, and this is when the term Poaching comes into play. Generally, poaching is claimed when the team losing the player doesn’t want them to leave or the recruiting team uses aggressive, or questionable, tactics in their recruiting.

Of course, in some areas there’s no real issue of poaching, because there’s only one team to play for. This is especially true in the Western U.S., where towns that can support rugby teams are often hundreds of miles apart. That makes if difficult, at best, to recruit someone who doesn’t want to move to where you are just so they can play for you. But in many areas, there are several teams close enough so that you have a choice of which team to play for. Because these teams are usually competitors on the field, that competition flows over into the recruitment of players.

The questions that we want to answer here are when does recruitment become poaching, and what allows players to be lured away from their current team? For the most part, players are free to choose the team they want to play for, and will play for the team that fits their needs. There are many variables that a player weighs, including the win/loss record of the team, their views of the coaching staff and other players, the organization of the team and the way practices are run, the selection process for choosing starting players, and the amount of playing time they can expect based on their abilities. And let’s face it, to play rugby you have to be somewhat competitive, so you want to play for a winning team and you want the most playing time you can get. If you’re currently a starting player for the top team in the area, you probably aren’t going to be recruited away. You may be poached, however, if the poaching team gives you something or compensates you in some way that overcomes your natural tendency to stay where you are. It’s that compensation, in whatever form, where the problems lie. That’s when ethical or legal lines tend to get crossed and when people cry foul.

But because players want to reach the top level of the game, they always have an eye open for new opportunities. They’re naturally open to recruitment. To keep players that might have opportunities elsewhere, you have to look at the intangibles that keep players happy and want to stay with you. Those intangibles include things like giving the players a voice in the team. As a coach or team manager, you’re in charge and you have goals for the team, but instead of declaring the rules from on-high, allow your players to provide input and feedback. Listen to what they have to say, and incorporate their good ideas into your operations. Also, winning games is a great reward, but an even greater reward is the acknowledgement of your contribution. There are 15 players on the field at a time, 7 reserves, and any number of team members that slog through practice week after week. No one person wins the game. The person who scores is supported by a minimum of 14 other players. Recognize everyone’s contribution. Cheer the players who supported the score, and recognize those players who show up to practice week after week, year after year, even though they don’t have the ability to ever make the starting lineup. Without them pushing themselves and providing support, your starters would soon begin to slack off and become complacent. Make all your players feel like they belong and are a valuable part of the team, and they’ll continue to come back, day after day, year after year, in all kinds of miserable weather and with all the aches and pains that come from playing rugby. Players stay because they want to, not because they have to. Make them want to stay and you won’t have to worry about poaching.

The other issue is with making promises to players that you might not be able to keep, or have no intention of keeping. These promises usually involve advancement, and play into that desire of players to move up towards the starting lineup, gain more playing time, or moving into a more desirable position. I could go on about this, but the bottom line is do not make promises that you can’t, or won’t, keep. You’ll lose all credibility and respect, and may lose some great players. You should have well defined standards and criteria for advancement. Stick with them, and of course, let everyone know what they are and how they can meet them. The movement of players to other positions works the same way. Let everyone know the criteria and standards for each position and what they need to do and how they need to perform to be considered for each position. And if players express an interest in trying out for another position, encourage them. Conduct tryouts for the position, and use your objective performance criteria. If the players know what is expected, and they are objectively evaluated, they will know at the same time as you whether they are capable of playing in that new position and whether they have a shot at making it in that position. As long as you’re objective and fair, there will be no hard feelings if they don’t make it. If they don’t make it, but are still interested, help them gain the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in that position. They’ll benefit, and your whole team will benefit.

Now, simply substitute employee for player and company for team, and this discussion is about business instead of rugby. It’s amazing the business lessons you can learn from the rugby pitch…

Now hiring...

I want to hire someone who has no experience, no training, and who has said they’re not interested in the job. I want to hire this person because our organization is currently not perfect. Our results have been good, but not perfect, so we need a change. We need someone who is not qualified for the job to take us to perfection. No one else in our industry is perfect either, but that doesn’t stop us from expecting perfect results. We’ll replace non-perfect performers the moment they make the smallest mistake.

Now, when we hire someone we don’t expect them to be perfect. We don’t tell them that they will be fired if they’re not perfect. As soon as they are working for us, however, the rules change. From that point, they must look perfect at all times, and only perfect results in every possible aspect of performance will be tolerated. You will be replaced with someone who has proven, at another imperfect organization, that they are not perfect either. But we think they will be perfect once they work for us, even though you are not and weren’t when we hired you.

Oh, although we expect perfection, we will restrict your ability to achieve perfect results by not allowing you to choose your own assistants, not providing you with support, and only allowing you limited access to your employees.

Anyone interested in this position, do not contact us directly. Tell someone else that you’re interested and hopefully we’ll believe that you are, in fact, serious. But no foreigners. Even if you are interested in us, we’re probably not interested in you, because we really, really, want to hire someone who is totally unqualified, has no experience, and has said they are not interested in the job.

We are: a) A multi-national corporation, b) A government agency, or c) The England Rugby Team. (hint: the answer is The England Rugby Team)

If anyone can explain to me why England want to hire Martin Johnson, please do. I understand he was a great player, but even he has said that being a national team player doesn't qualify you to coach or manage a team. Am I missing something here?

Hawaii Rugby Week 8 Results and Standings

Here's the results and standings as of Week 8. Looks like there's been some good games. I'm back in town, for a while at least, so hopefully I'll be able to watch some rugby this weekend. I'm so grateful to Lofi for supplying these results every week. Great job, Lofi! And, Lofi is the current scoring leader in the Union as of this week. I guess he's not just another pretty face. :)

Hawaii Rugby Scores & Standings

Here's the scores and standings for weeks 6 and 7. I've been missing a lot of good rugby during my travels, but these updates are great. Thanks, Lofi!

New Links

I've got a couple of new links, both rugby and operations:

New Operations Links:

This is an excellent blog I found; LearnSigma. It's a blog about Lean and Six Sigma. It has some excellent posts and some excellent links. Definitely check this out. And if you're looking for some simple, but very effective, lean games to use in your training, here's a link to one of his posts that I found very useful. I used both the Nickel Game and the Dollar Game in the Lean Seminar I just gave in Tucson and they were quite effective - and fun. Very simple and easy, but clearly illustrate some of the Lean principles I was reviewing. And the best thing is all you need is some coins. You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars buying some lean board games that some people are selling. Also, I love the videos of the demonstration of these games.

I'm also adding a link to the Tucson Chapter of APICS. I presented a seminar for them yesterday, and Introduction to Lean seminar. I titled it Leaning Towards Excellence. I also gave a presentation at their dinner meeting. That was titled Selecting the Right Tools for the Job, which is based on my book. I recorded the presentation, and sent the audio and the slides to the Tucson Chapter, so check in on their site and look for both the audio and slides of the presentation. I started this with the Mission Peak Chapter of APICS, and they're now recording all their speakers and posting the presentations on their website. I did a presentation for them earlier this month. The audio wasn't working that night, so I re-recorded the audio in my "personal studio" (i.e. my hotel room). Check in on their website for that presentation - Lean & Six Sigma: Working Together.

I'm going to post these presentations to my website, so check there too. The wifi connection is a little slow here at times (I'm on the road), so it might take me a couple of days to get it up there.

Next up is a blog dedicated to the music business; Your Music Business. The gentleman who authors the blog, Liam Abramson, contacted me because he wants to post an article that I wrote on his website (he has an arts business consultancy, focusing on the music business); Tips for Managing Your Small Non-profit Organization.

New Rugby Links:

I found this blog a while ago, but didn't add the link because the posts were so old; Coaching Rugby. But now Just Call me Coach has been making posts. Her posts are quite good, and she has some great links to excellent rugby coaching resources. Rugby coaches should definitely read this blog, and all ruggers should check it out too. Well worth your time.

I was just contacted today to join this Yahoo Group; World Rugby Masters. This is a group, from "Trapper" Dan, dedicated to Masters Rugby, also known as Old Boys or Old Farts. There are different groupings, but generally Master Rugby is considered over 35 years old. I'd love to play some rugby again (when I get in shape), but if I do it would have to be Old Boys. Don't let that fool you. When I first started playing rugby and still in my teens, one of the best players I met was about 50 years old. Jim Sims (sp?), first of Durango, then Santa Fe. He was one of the toughest guys I ever met, not very big, but solid, and it felt like you were running into a rock when you tackled him. He's the one who taught me how to tackle. We asked him to come down to Socorro to help us out, and he spent one night giving us some tips. I remember the tackling drills. It must have worked. When I moved to Albuquerque and started playing club rugby, for a good team (Albuquerque Aardvarks), my tackling skills were noticed. I had to fight for my position (number 6, or blind side flanker) with one of the fittest and best rugby players I knew. I finally won the starting spot, but in tournaments we often alternated games. I remember, though, in one tournament I was selected to play in the finals when it was the other gentleman's turn. I was selected for my tackling skills, that would be especially needed against the team we were playing in the finals. Sure made me feel good.

So, I'm still in Tucson, Arizona. It was cold the first couple days I was here, but it's been warming up since. I went on the downtown walking tour today, with my wife's aunt. It was great fun. I'd never walked around downtown before. Found some new coffee shops and restaurants. I love Tucson.

On the road again...

I'm on the road again. I'm in Tucson, and I love it. If you've never been to Tucson, you should come, it's a great place. But just come to visit, I like it the way it is size wise. I got up and went for a run this morning, and just about froze my buns off. Yes, Tucson, Arizona in March, and coooold! And yes, I'm a bit out of shape, but I'm officially in marathon training. My wife dragged (drug?) me down to the Honolulu Marathon Clinic last week, which is what I needed. If - When - I run this year, it will be my fourth marathon. I missed the last couple of years, but I'm going to do it again this year. The Marathon Clinic has been going for 30 years now and is a great program. It's really designed for people who have never run a marathon, or even really run before. The clinic starts in March, because if you follow their program, you can finish a marathon with nine months of training. The basic premise is you have to run for one-hour, three days a week. Ouch!

Well, I know I can go out and run for an hour, so I don't really have an excuse to not get in shape. At this point, there's a fair amount of shuffling, as opposed to actual running, but it's a good start. I'm not a natural born runner, like some people, but I like it. I played rugby for about six years and thought I was in pretty good shape. Thought I did a lot of running. But I was wrong. I joined the army and we ran quite a bit in basic training, or so I thought. Then I went to airborne school and learned about running, among other things. I have to admit I don't know if I would have made it without help. My help came from a guy I met on the bus down to Fort Benning. The guy was amazing, like a lung with legs. When I started hurting and thought I was going to drop out of a run, he'd just grab hold of me and drag me along. I don't know how my legs kept moving. Of course, if he hadn't made me drink beer all night after training and wake up with a hangover I probably could have made it a little further until I needed that help.

But, I digress. I'm on the road again. And what have I seen so far? Well, let's start with the flight over. I fly United. I fly United almost all the time, so I'm a Premier. That means I get to use the less crowded check in kiosk, get the extra legroom seats, and get to board with Seating Area 1 . Or so I thought. For some reason I've been demoted to Seating Area 4. Now that's not really a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but from a customer service point of view it's not good. I still fly enough to be a Premier level customer, but they've demoted me for some unknown reason without telling me. And airlines wonder why they can't make money.

Rented a car while I'm here. We mostly use Dollar. I like them. You can reserve a car online or by calling them, and you don't need to leave a credit card number to reserve. That just make it easier and less of a hassle. They're usually a little cheaper than the "major" rental companies, but they have the same cars. I've never had a problem with them, and when I returned my car in San Francisco last week their check-in person helped me out and saved me some money. I couldn't find a gas station before the airport (first time renting a car in SF), so just took the car in on empty as was prepared to pay. But the lady gave me directions to the nearest gas station and a ticket to get out of the parking garage, and that saved me a good chunk of change. That's the customer service that keeps me coming back.

My hotel got a lot of extra points for several things, but got a ding when I checked in. I had to call a couple of times to make changes, and they were wonderful on the phone, even at 3:00 a.m. Everyone's been more than pleasant since I got here. But when I arrived to check in, the person at the desk was talking to someone else (not sure if they work here or who they were), talking about another guest who didn't speak English, and left me to wait for a minute. Just kind of turned me off a bit. Customer service rule: always put on your best face.

I was heading down south to Green Valley this morning, but ran into a couple of problems. First, there was a parade downtown, which I ran into. If I had known, I could have taken another route, but I ran into the detours and ended up slightly lost. I know my way around here pretty well, but then ran into problem two; highway construction. The construction itself isn't a problem, but just a thought to the city of Tucson - have clear directions through the construction. On the way back into town, on the interstate, there were very clear directions and signs that no one could miss. Directions and signs like that on the major streets leading to the access to the highway would sure go a long way towards making people's lives easier. Even governments need customer service.

Well, past my bedtime again and I have to get up and run again tomorrow.