Dave Frank

This is a passage from my book, Hurdle-isms: ____ 𝗛𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗹𝗲-𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝟭𝟳: 𝗟𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀; 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 In 2018, I was the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the new strength and conditioning coach Jim Malone had a whiteboard in the weight room that said, “Lower the bar and you lose the winners; raise the bar and you lose the losers.” I immediately let Jim know I was borrowing this quote for the rest of my life. I've used it more times than I can count in more ways than I can count since then. Jim and I had known each other for more than 10 years prior to him becoming a Pirate. He had worked for the San Diego Padres for many years, and we would frequent the same breakfast spot in the Gaslamp District. Cafe 222 was the place I went for food and focus. Jim seemed to be looking for the same. (Or we were both just hungry and had similar tastes!) When we were interviewing for a new strength and conditioning coach in Pittsburgh, Jim's name was on my list, and after interviewing all the candidates he was our choice. It's been my experience, personally and professionally, that winners don't want to settle for less. They are consistently looking for ways to improve and get better physically and mentally. They don't want to be graded on a curve or work hard to become average or to be just OK. A slogan that's not posted in a clubhouse or on a whiteboard: “Let's be OK.” I understand there are days that OK is the best you've got. However, when you can look around the room into each other's eyes and see your teammate coming up short, you can raise him up. That's what good teams do. That's what good teammates do. There are no weak links. By raising the bar, you continue to keep everyone's attention. By lowering the bar, you lose the attention and commitment level of the winners. They know you are lowering the bar and settling for less. As the leader, you also are the first one to know when you are lowering expectations and pivoting away from giving your best when your best is needed. On that third Tuesday in July, when you've played close to 100 games, are you still raising the bar or lowering the bar? Your team will know. If you're lowering the bar, you might as well start waving a white flag, too.