10 Management Lessons From College Football

Business and college football don’t frequently overlap–at least not on the field–but the men managing those teams are every bit as prone to pitfalls as you are, and being in the business of leading makes for more common ground than you may have anticipated.  Just think, even more violent metaphors to use in that dull office banter!

10. Know When To Fold ‘Em

Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno were, at one time, the two best football coaches in the country, regularly competing for (and winning) national titles.  But sometime in between the late 90s and now, these legends were seemingly killed and replaced by zombies that can only think about their next meal, instead of, say, NCAA compliance (Bowden) or getting out of the way of a speeding linebacker (Paterno).  The lesson?  You can’t always win, and it’s important to recognize when to step aside or bring in help–Coach Bowden has his successor on staff already, just waiting for the old coot to die.

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