There was some great college football over the weekend. One I particularly enjoyed was watching the Ohio State Buckeyes football team defeat the Utah Utes in the Rose Bowl 48-45. Behind for three quarters, quarterback CJ Stroud led the team back by throwing for 6 touchdowns. His favorite target was Jaxson Smith-Njigba who had a mind-blowing 347 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns.

Coach Ryan Day has been the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes for three seasons, compiling a 34–4 record or a .894 winning percentage. Day has done a lot of great things as a head coach, but one thing he hasn’t done is write a leadership book. As the college football season winds down, I thought it would be fun to compare the leadership books of three previous Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches — Woody Hayes, Jim Tressel, and Urban Meyer.

On the Field Performance

Woody Hayes coached the Buckeyes for 26 seasons from 1951-1978. He compiled a 205-61-10 record or a .761 winning percentage. During his tenure the team won 5 National Championships (3 consensus and 2 non-consensus) and 13 Big Ten Championships. (an average of a Big Ten Championship every 2 years). He coached 3 Heisman trophy winners — Howard Cassidy and Archie Griffin, twice. His teams were known for a “3 yards and a cloud of dust” running attack and stingy defense. He was dismissed for striking a Clemson football player during the Gator Bowl. He passed away in 1987.

Jim Tressel coached the Buckeyes for 10 seasons from 2001-2010. He compiled a 94-22 record or a winning percentage of .810. During his time as coach the team won 1 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship and 7 Big Ten Championships (an average Big Ten Championship every 1.42 years). He coached one Heisman Trophy winner — Troy Smith. His teams were known for strong defense, ball control, and field position. Some say his favorite offensive weapon was the punt. Tressel resigned due to his unethical conduct around players trading or selling memorabilia in exchange for tattoos. Currently, he is the President of Youngstown State University.

Urban Meyer coached the Buckeyes for 7 seasons from 2012-2018. He compiled a 83-9 record or a winning percentage of .902. During his tenure the team won 1 College Football Playoff National Championship and 3 Big Ten Championships (an average Big Ten Championship every 2.33 years). He did not have a Heisman Trophy winner. His teams were known for running the spread offense. Meyer eventually resigned after being suspended for mishandling domestic violence allegations against then-wide receivers coach Zack Smith. He was also recently fired as the head coach of the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars.

Winner: While all three coaches had judgment problems, Meyer has the best winning percentage, Coach Tressel had the most frequent Big 10 Championships, and Woody had the most Heisman recipients and National Championships. In the end, I believe Coach Jim Tressel was the best coach on the field.

GoodReads Ratings

Woody Hayes wrote You Win With People in 1974. The book is currently out of print. I found a used copy through Amazon. With 13 reviews on GoodReads it received a rating of 3.92.

Jim Tressel, with Chris Fabry, wrote The Winners Manual for the Game of Life in 2008. I found the book in a little free library. With 713 reviews on GoodReads it received a rating of 4.00.

Urban Meyer, with Wayne Coffey, wrote Above the Line: Lessons in Leadership and Life from a Championship Season in 2015. I got the book as a gift after the championship season. It is still in print. With 1989 reviews on GoodReads, it received a rating of 4.20.

Winner: Above the Line, by Urban Meyer is the best book via GoodReads.

Best Lessons for Corporate Leaders

Woody Hayes’ book is from a different era. It includes a lot of recaps of games in the 1950s and 1960s, discussion of great players in those decades, and a chapter on jokes, which I think Hayes used in speeches across Ohio. I struggled to find many takeaways for the modern corporate leader. However, here are a couple of takeaways:

• He has a great quote on the power of the team, saying “Each man has much greater ability than he thinks he has, particularly when he uses that ability in a concentrated team effort.” Remember the power of your team is much more powerful than any one individual on the team.

• Hayes quotes Chief Justice Earl Warren who said he avoided reading the front page of newspapers first because “The front page is the story of man’s downfall and tragedy, while the stories on the sports pages were one of achievement.” So if you need some inspiration, read the sports page (or ESPN.com) first.

• Finally Hayes relays one of his quotes, saying “you can’t change a mistake, but you can use it as a challenge.” Use one of your mistakes as a catalyst for improvement.

Jim Tressel’s book was the best for leaders of any type of organization. He takes a comprehensive approach to developing each individual by using his Block O concept. Here are the best takeaways that I found from The Winners Manual:

• Over and over in the book he presents the question “If the game of life ended today, would you be a winner?” It is a great question to ask yourself as you reflect on 2021 and develop your goals for 2022.

• He states that a good team player: gives 100%, shows courage off the field, makes no mental mistakes, cares about the team above all else, and demonstrates loyalty to all. What is your definition of a good team player?

• Finally, he reminded me that teamwork is a constant balance between self-interest and group interest. How are you aligning self-interest with the group’s interest? Where are there disconnects?

Urban Meyer’s book feels like a lot of bumper stickers and sayings from leadership posters. After Urban’s struggles coaching the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars it has caused me to wonder if he really executed everything that he talks about in the book. Here are the best takeaways that I found for corporate leaders:

• He introduces the concept that the greatness of a football team is due to the concept of 9 Units Strong. The offensive line, tight ends, quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, defensive line, linebackers, cornerbacks, and safeties — all need to operate at maximum capacity. I like the idea because so often corporate groups operate in silos, semi-independently of one another. When was the last time you (or your boss) talked about the need for all business units or silos to work together in alignment or harmony? How are you going to get all the business units synchronized and working together towards a common goal?

• He simplifies the game of football down by saying “The foundation of our success is relentless effort. We go 4 to 6 seconds, point A to point B, as hard as we can.” Taking that idea a step further — have you simplified the work each individual on your team is doing down to its very essence?

• “Every organization has a culture by design or default.” What are you doing to grow your culture today?

Winner: The Winners Manual for the Game of Life by Jim Tressel.

Overall Winner

If you are an Ohio State Buckeyes football fan and are looking for leadership ideas on how to better lead your team, your group, or your company I think the best book is Coach Tressel’s The Winners Manual for the Game of Life.

Conclusion

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Read The Winners Manual for the Game of Life and then go on the offense and apply its principles in 2022.