This is usually the time of year when, 'survive and advance' is an often used quote to describe the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament known as March Madness. Each year, national powerhouse programs and relative unknown underdogs battle for the NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship. The tournament grips the attention of the nation for 4 consecutive weekends. The tournament is filled with the most unexpected things a sports fan could imagine. It is insane, thus the name March Madness.
One of the teams that built the reputation of March Madness was the North Carolina State University team, led by coach Jim Valvano, in 1983. They trailed in the final minute of all six tournament games and won all six becoming the national champions. When Valvano was asked later on what his team's mindset was during that game, he said 'focus on the game we are playing in and don't worry about tomorrow. If we survive that game, we get to advance to the next. That's it; survive and advance'
And the motto for March Madness was born. Survive and advance.
It's March 21, 2020 and we find ourselves in the midst of a different type of March Madness. Not the fun version that we get to watch on the weekend, but the global pandemic version that is forcing us into our homes. For many, it has forced us into a new version of our lives. It will force us to change things. It will force us to adapt to things. It will force us to give up things. I think it is safe to say that things are different now and they will be different after the Corona virus.
Survive and advance.
That quote actually really works for our current situation. Michael Rapaport, actor and sports enthusiast, launched a profanity-laced tirade with this quote on his Twitter account. It is really offensive. I'm not going to share it with you. He wasn't wrong either. Survive and advance.
(Now, I'm not making light of those that will face a physical life-threatening medical situation. Not all. This is a very real, generational-defining, global event that is threatening the health of the world. If you want to read an insider perspective on how serious, read this post from one of former players who is now a NYC emergency room doctor. )
But...
Many of us will not have our physical lives threatened, but we may have our livelihoods threatened. Educators, which I am one, are a great example. In a blink, the world of education is trying to pivot and provide education exclusively online. What I am trying to do is to direct our attention to fearlessly taking on whatever uncomfortable changes and obstacles that this situation is going to force us to face. Some will choose to survive and advance. Some will not.
How? How do we take hold of something that's forced us into so many uncomfortable, inconvenient, and even threatening circumstances?
In my 20 years as an educator I have had to navigate some pretty complicated situations, but the DC Sniper, Hurricane Sandy, and now Coronavirus sit on the top of that list. I've had to lead classes, teams, departments, and schools through all three.
Here's what I've learned and tried to practice when facing a situation that is forcing me to survive and advance...
Accept it. How do you know you have accepted it? If you are wasting very little time complaining about what is happening, and you are not obsessed with how unfair the circumstances are; you have probably accepted it. When you are trying to survive and advance, there is no time to complain about it. Talented sports teams are notorious for collapsing in big moments because they started arguing with each other or blaming their unfortunate circumstances. Many under-talented teams have accomplished unexpected championships because they accepted their circumstances, and took responsibility to stay together. Whether we want it to be or not, this is a big moment. March Madness...survive and advance.
Ask questions and be open to answers. Start asking every possible question and start listening to all of the answers. How do you know you are listening to the answers? You're making a plan for how to adapt and implement those answers. Be careful that you don't stress yourself out with adopting the answers to your situation. If you are a business owner in New Jersey, what is working for a business owner in Wichita can't be adopted, but a version of it may be adaptable. Bill Donovan, 2x national champion basketball coach of the University of Florida, once told a room full of coaches not to adopt what he was doing at Florida rather just adapt 1 thing. Those that survive and advance do not adopt what they are learning, but they do it adapt it to their situation.
*Note: my wife, who is an elementary educator who has pivoted from classroom delivery to online delivery for six year olds, has demonstrated these next two responses masterfully! Below are a picture of her online classroom back drop in the corner of our bedroom and her conducting Zoom meeting with her class.
Be responsive. Because things will not be perfect and we know we won't anticipate every possible anomaly, respond quickly when mistakes are found. My wife always does this well, and has not let it slip in the new paradigm of being an online educator. Every parent call, text, and email is responded to fast. Zoom meetings are scheduled quickly to help walk parents and students through brand new processes. She's not interested in being perfect. She's not making excuses or defending herself. She's only interested in taking care of the people she's responsible for. So when they reach out, she's there to respond. Fast.
Repeat steps 2-4. Keep asking questions and accepting answers. Keep adapting and moving forward. Keep responding to the things that you couldn't anticipate with passion, grace, and humility. This too shall pass and if you follow these recommended steps you will get through this.
You will survive and advance.
‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read about it more here.
One of the teams that built the reputation of March Madness was the North Carolina State University team, led by coach Jim Valvano, in 1983. They trailed in the final minute of all six tournament games and won all six becoming the national champions. When Valvano was asked later on what his team's mindset was during that game, he said 'focus on the game we are playing in and don't worry about tomorrow. If we survive that game, we get to advance to the next. That's it; survive and advance'
And the motto for March Madness was born. Survive and advance.
It's March 21, 2020 and we find ourselves in the midst of a different type of March Madness. Not the fun version that we get to watch on the weekend, but the global pandemic version that is forcing us into our homes. For many, it has forced us into a new version of our lives. It will force us to change things. It will force us to adapt to things. It will force us to give up things. I think it is safe to say that things are different now and they will be different after the Corona virus.
That quote actually really works for our current situation. Michael Rapaport, actor and sports enthusiast, launched a profanity-laced tirade with this quote on his Twitter account. It is really offensive. I'm not going to share it with you. He wasn't wrong either. Survive and advance.
(Now, I'm not making light of those that will face a physical life-threatening medical situation. Not all. This is a very real, generational-defining, global event that is threatening the health of the world. If you want to read an insider perspective on how serious, read this post from one of former players who is now a NYC emergency room doctor. )
But...
Many of us will not have our physical lives threatened, but we may have our livelihoods threatened. Educators, which I am one, are a great example. In a blink, the world of education is trying to pivot and provide education exclusively online. What I am trying to do is to direct our attention to fearlessly taking on whatever uncomfortable changes and obstacles that this situation is going to force us to face. Some will choose to survive and advance. Some will not.
How? How do we take hold of something that's forced us into so many uncomfortable, inconvenient, and even threatening circumstances?
In my 20 years as an educator I have had to navigate some pretty complicated situations, but the DC Sniper, Hurricane Sandy, and now Coronavirus sit on the top of that list. I've had to lead classes, teams, departments, and schools through all three.
Here's what I've learned and tried to practice when facing a situation that is forcing me to survive and advance...
Ask questions and be open to answers. Start asking every possible question and start listening to all of the answers. How do you know you are listening to the answers? You're making a plan for how to adapt and implement those answers. Be careful that you don't stress yourself out with adopting the answers to your situation. If you are a business owner in New Jersey, what is working for a business owner in Wichita can't be adopted, but a version of it may be adaptable. Bill Donovan, 2x national champion basketball coach of the University of Florida, once told a room full of coaches not to adopt what he was doing at Florida rather just adapt 1 thing. Those that survive and advance do not adopt what they are learning, but they do it adapt it to their situation.
*Note: my wife, who is an elementary educator who has pivoted from classroom delivery to online delivery for six year olds, has demonstrated these next two responses masterfully! Below are a picture of her online classroom back drop in the corner of our bedroom and her conducting Zoom meeting with her class.
Get moving forward with an adapted plan. Winning is reserved for those that take action. Many people are open to change, but they never survive and advance because they fall prey to 'paralysis by analysis'. They never move forward in any timely fashion because they are afraid of failing, or the situation isn't ideal, or the plan isn't perfect. My wife has taken a deep breath and jumped into the deep end of online education. She's forced herself to become obsessed with it. She has not waited for things to be perfect or complained that this was not an ideal situation to experiment with online education. Do not wait for things to be perfect. Ask questions. Get answers. Create an adapted plan. And GO!
Be responsive. Because things will not be perfect and we know we won't anticipate every possible anomaly, respond quickly when mistakes are found. My wife always does this well, and has not let it slip in the new paradigm of being an online educator. Every parent call, text, and email is responded to fast. Zoom meetings are scheduled quickly to help walk parents and students through brand new processes. She's not interested in being perfect. She's not making excuses or defending herself. She's only interested in taking care of the people she's responsible for. So when they reach out, she's there to respond. Fast.
Repeat steps 2-4. Keep asking questions and accepting answers. Keep adapting and moving forward. Keep responding to the things that you couldn't anticipate with passion, grace, and humility. This too shall pass and if you follow these recommended steps you will get through this.
You will survive and advance.
‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read about it more here.
Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader and Director
of Athletics at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. He’s earned a few
degrees and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school
sweetheart and they have three teen age children. Life is messy and complicated
most of the time. You can follow him on Twitter
for all sorts of inspirational thoughts and good laughs.
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