Small Moves, Big Change

We have long been fascinated with sports stories.  We have written about Billy Beane, who changed the way baseball players are recruited; about the coach of the Vancouver Canucks, who gained an understanding of their disappointing loss of the Stanley Cup by closely and carefully reading the video footage of the final game; and about why parents shouldn’t attend their children’s sporting events. We find that sports stories have threads of perseverance, humanity, and innovative thinking. They inspire us to examine our lives—both our personal and our professional lives—and they motivate us to live and think differently.

In The Ego is the Enemy, Ryan Holiday tells the story of football coach and general manager, Bill Walsh, who, in 1979, took the 49ers from being the worst team in the league to being the best. When Walsh took the helm, the 49ers were demoralized because of their previous losing season, which had yielded only two wins out of 16 games. While things didn’t get better immediately under Walsh’s direction, the 49ers turned their losing streak into a winning streak. In 1981, three short years after assuming leadership of the team, the 49ers actually won the Super Bowl! So, exactly what did Walsh do to bring about the biggest turnaround in NFL history?

As Walsh tells the story, he didn’t lead the 49ers to this accomplishment by focusing on winning. Instead, he says, he focused on something he called “Standards of Performance.” Standards of Performance were nothing more than concentrating on small, almost trivial-seeming details such as making sure players did not sit down on the field during practice, keeping the locker room neat and clean, proper ball handling, learning and practicing critical passing drills, and using every minute of scheduled practice time. By focusing on what others might see as minutia, Bill Walsh led his team to victory.

So what does Bill’s approach teach us? It teaches us that if you have your eye on a goal-saving money for retirement, increasing your level of physical fitness, helping your students become better readers—micro-habits matter.  It is important to think about the little things that contribute to the vision that is driving you–that is, to lay out some “Standards of Performance”–and be vigilant about sticking with them.

Consider what are the “standards”–seemingly trivial details of your work–that you can give some of your love. How can you make these tasks about the effort, doing your best in the moment, rather than about long-term results?

• Looking children in the eyes when they talk with you.
• Noticing the authors and genres students seem to enjoy and finding books you think they will love.
• Listening to children read and earnestly talking with them about what their book makes them think and feel.
• Responding lovingly to students even when they ask for your attention in unloving ways.
• Organizing your classroom and your instructional time in ways that are responsive to what you know about your students.
• Increasing efficiency through procedures and routines that make instructional time less crunched and life in the classroom more productive (and less stressed).

Of course, we aren’t saying that long-term goals are unimportant. We are simply saying that these can be balanced with loving attention to the present moments and the details that add up to the future you envision. What small moves will you refine and practice with care this year? What small moves will you teach children?

Some of our favorite books related to these ideas include:

	Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday Filled with stories from history and literature, this book invites us to view ourselves (and others) through an honest lens. Armed with the lessons in this book, as Holiday writes, “you will be less invested in the story you tell about your own specialness, and as a result, you will be liberated to accomplish the world-changing work you’ve set out to achieve.” While it may seem counterintuitive, there is a lot of freedom in discovering that the stories we tell about ourselves–good and bad– may not be serving us.
	The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness by Jeff Olson This book shows the ways that seemingly small habits can create a ripple effect that can change your whole life. With practical guidance for approaching your biggest and most challenging goals, Jeff shows you how persistent, excellent, and small moves add up.
	Mini-habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results by Stephen Guise We love the work of Stephen Guise because it is so very practical. It helps us push past overwhelm. His concept of mini-habits is profound. If you have a goal you have been trying to tackle for a long time, Stephen may lend you a fresh perspective and empower you to take those first critical steps.
	A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle This book is among our all-time favorite titles because it has been life-changing for both of us. Don’t read this book unless you really want things in your life to shift! And don’t be surprised if the solutions to the challenges you face are already within your reach.

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