Green Bay Packers and the Standard of Excellence
Instead of being held accountable by a billionaire owner, the Green Bay Packers strive for a standard of excellence set by themselves and the fanbase. A team of self-motivated high character players with good habits can compete against anyone. Why not do that in our own lives? What would happen if we also held ourselves to a standard of excellence?
I’m a Green Bay Packers fan. I know I talk about Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks a lot on this show, but the Packers are the clear favorite team in the state of Wisconsin.
The last two Sundays I went to my friend, Felipe’s, house to watch the Packer games. I just have an antenna at my place. It picks up all these weird channels: Cozi, Decades, the START channel, ESCAPE channel, Quest channel, Prism channel, Laff channel, Justice Channel, Grit, Localish, Court TV. But the four network channels don’t come in: NBC, FOX, CBS, and ABC. I’m not making this up. The only time I watch TV is for sports. And it doesn’t work.
There’s probably a simple way to resolve this. These are the areas in life that I struggle with most. These small tasks a normal person would just take care of. To me, these are the most energy draining ways to spend my time. So I’d rather travel to friends’ places and watch the games.
So Felipe and I were watching the Packers-Bears game. The most historic rivalry in the NFL. Green Bay just smoked ‘em. It looked so easy. The last decade the Packers led the head to head matchup 17-4. Felipe asked me why the Packers are always better. In my opinion, it’s because they don’t have an owner.
The Packers are the only American professional sports team that is owned by the public, if we’re not counting MLS. Actually, I’m an owner. I own one share of the team. My number is 109399. I’m an owner of the Green Bay Packers. I’m invited to the owner’s conference in the summer, and get to vote for people to run the team.
Being owned by the fans makes the Green Bay Packers very unique. It’s one trait that attracts not just a local fan base—but a national and international fan base. One of my favorite artists, Harry Styles, is a big Packer fan. He even has the logo tattooed on his arm!
I’ve gone to two Packer games—both in December. Their stadium is just in the middle of a neighborhood. Bunch of small houses and you park in peoples’ yards and tailgate. People are nice and everyone has a good time.
The Green Bay Packers have won 13 NFL championships and 4 Superbowls. How do they compete at such a high level against teams owned by billionaires?
They’re held to a standard of excellence. By both themselves and the public.
Losing seasons are simply unacceptable. I won’t stand for it. My co-owners, the state of Wisconsin, and the rest of our fans won’t stand for it either. Sustained success is what we strive for. If we aren’t competing for Superbowls each year then what are we playing for? It’s that goal that drives the values and principles of the organization. It shapes the culture.
If you have great culture, you don’t need someone at the top holding you accountable. Sustained greatness is about self-motivation, high character, and good habits. Those are the types of players the Packers draft. Sometimes it means passing on more talented individuals, which can drive fans crazy. We need humble people willing to work hard and learn. People who want to get better and work collaboratively to reach the goal. There’s no ambiguity when you come into the organization, you know exactly what the Packers stand for. That’s not the case with most professional sports teams. The owners’ egos are often the first priority. That can get in the way of winning.
Sports are about so much more than what’s happening on the field or the scoreboard. Non-sports fans don’t get it. Those who understand that can improve their own life experience. Again, what I love about sports is how easily we can apply lessons to our own lives.
I can ask myself, “What if I also held myself to the standard of excellence?” If I want sustained success in my own life, what do I have to do? It starts with myself and I must think long-term. The decisions I make must reflect that. I must stiff-arm my impulses and lust for short cuts. I have to be humble and understand I have much to learn but, if I work hard at it, I can grow stronger and better. It requires focus so I can’t be swayed by distractions. Boy, this doesn’t sound very fun does it?
You know what’s fun: winning. Winning is very fun.