The Remarkable Leadership Podcast

00:00:08:15 - 00:00:36:18
Kevin Eikenberry
Preparation. Boring. Unsexy? Maybe. But it's hard to argue about the importance of preparation. And if we want to be winners. And as leaders, create winning teams. Our guest today believes we must be ready to win. Which starts with preparation. Being ready with a clear and powerful preparation strategy. That's our conversation today. And I'm so glad you're here to join us for it.

00:00:36:19 - 00:01:06:21
Kevin Eikenberry
Welcome to another episode of the Remarkable Leadership Podcast, where we are helping leaders grow personally and professionally to lead more effectively and make a bigger difference for their teams, organizations and the world. If you are listening to this podcast, you can join us live in the future on your favorite social platform. You can find out when those shows are happening and how you can get connected, and get other inside information about the show by joining our LinkedIn or Facebook groups.

00:01:06:23 - 00:01:33:17
Kevin Eikenberry
Just go to remarkable podcast.com/linkedin or remarkable podcast.com/facebook. And you can get in on all of the future action. Today's episode is brought to you by my latest book, Flexible Leadership. Navigate uncertainty and lead with confidence. It's time to realize that styles can get in our way, and that our follow in that, and that following our strengths might not always be our best approach.

00:01:33:21 - 00:01:58:16
Kevin Eikenberry
In a world more complex and uncertain than ever. Leaders need a new perspective and set of tools to create the great results that our organizations and team members want and need. That's where flexible leadership comes in. Learn more and order your copy today at remarkable podcast.com/flexible. And with that that's my cue to bring in my guest. His name is coach Matthew Mitchell.

00:01:58:20 - 00:02:27:03
Kevin Eikenberry
He is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, speaker, three times SEC coach of the year, and the winning this head coach in the history of the University of Kentucky women's basketball program. The foundation for his team's achievements is the winning tools, principles, honesty, hard work, and discipline. Through his focus on the fundamentals. He led the program to new heights, winning seven seven winning seasons and UK's first SEC Championship in 30 years.

00:02:27:05 - 00:02:51:21
Kevin Eikenberry
In his new book, Ready to Win How Great Leaders Succeed Through Preparation. He shares proven principles from his work so that we can become ready to win. And just off the presses. He's told me he's going back to college basketball and will be coaching the University of Houston Lady Cougars starting this fall. Coach Matthew, welcome. Thanks for being here.

00:02:51:23 - 00:02:58:04
Matthew Mitchell
Thanks so much, Kevin. It's great to be with you. I, appreciate the opportunity and looking forward to our time together.

00:02:58:06 - 00:03:16:22
Kevin Eikenberry
Well, for all of you, most many of you listening don't know this, but I am a huge college basketball fan, and I'm going to do my best to not make this all about me. Or about college basketball. I'm not going to ask him about flare screens or pick and roll offense. At least not while the cameras rolling anyway.

00:03:17:00 - 00:03:44:08
Kevin Eikenberry
So, listen, I'm so glad that you're here. And suicide. I enjoyed reading the book, and as I hinted, preparation, I think, isn't something that we often talk about. And yet it's incredibly important. And so I'm super excited for you to have that conversation. But first, beyond what I just shared in terms of bio. So what what led you to coaching college basketball and then and writing the book like writing books?

00:03:44:12 - 00:03:48:07
Kevin Eikenberry
Like sort of just a little bit more about the journey than I shared in the open.

00:03:48:09 - 00:04:17:06
Matthew Mitchell
Sure. I, in my early 20s, was, sort of floundering and, and was lamenting that fact that I didn't feel like I had any focus to my high school basketball coach. And he said, Matthew, I think I always thought you'd make a good coach. So why don't you come back this year and help out? So that was 1994, and, the first time I stepped on the court, at a basketball practice with my mentor and coach, Coach Farrell Rigby.

00:04:17:08 - 00:04:41:19
Matthew Mitchell
I said, this is this is it. This is, where I need to be. So that led me on a journey of just trying very hard to become competent in coaching. So it's very different coaching than it is playing and competing as a player as it is as a coach. And so one of the great pieces of fortune I had and blessings I had was I worked the University of Tennessee women's basketball camp there in the mid 90s.

00:04:41:19 - 00:05:06:18
Matthew Mitchell
Coach Pat Summitt, the the, the all time great legend, was on a streak of three straight national championships and and just the program was at its absolute zenith. And I was in the middle of all that work. And summer camp never had any clue that that that my life would change. In the summer of 1999, she hired me as her graduate assistant coach, and it changed everything for me.

00:05:06:18 - 00:05:28:15
Matthew Mitchell
Kevin. So that led me to, successful assistant coaching career Florida University of Florida for three years. University of Kentucky. And then I finally got, an opportunity to lead my own program. And that was first at Morehead State, where I developed the winning tools that you mentioned earlier, and then went on to return to Kentucky as the head coach for 13 years.

00:05:28:15 - 00:05:52:03
Matthew Mitchell
So 15 years as a Division one head coach and, stepped away in 2020 for, just some time to, to, contemplate life and, and, and see what the next leg was. And so over the last four years have built a business and a consulting firm where we help people with their leadership and their team work and their personal growth.

00:05:52:05 - 00:06:16:01
Matthew Mitchell
And, the book part of it came about as, just suggested on, getting my, you know, thoughts and philosophies on leadership down and, and, and available to people. So that's how the books, came about. And, it's been an incredible journey for the last 30 years. And I'm still learning new stuff all the time and excited about, a life right now.

00:06:16:03 - 00:06:28:04
Kevin Eikenberry
Okay. So now I have to ask, why? Back to coaching. I mean, you decided to step away. Did you always sort of think you'd go back, or is this just an opportunity that you couldn't pass up or. I'm just kind of curious.

00:06:28:06 - 00:06:51:08
Matthew Mitchell
Yeah. So, it just such a big part of my life and a big part of my leadership and learn so much about it. And, my family, has really encouraged me as I've been on this journey as an entrepreneur and, and building the consulting firm that's had great success. My wife just always said, you know, I think what you do best is, is coach college basketball, and I don't want you to forget that.

00:06:51:08 - 00:06:58:08
Matthew Mitchell
And now I've got, 14 year old daughter that's loving the game. And so I was coaching her in middle school, Kevin. And she said, dad.

00:06:58:10 - 00:06:59:04
Kevin Eikenberry
No, no.

00:06:59:06 - 00:07:18:04
Matthew Mitchell
Yeah. It's, you know, she, you know, she she was the opposite. She was like, this is amazing. You need to get back to college. You don't need a middle school. You need to go back and coach college. And so that encouragement had me looking, or always open to the opportunity and the opportunity at Houston was was too good to pass up at all.

00:07:18:04 - 00:07:34:08
Matthew Mitchell
The timing worked out. And so, I think it will even enhance, my leadership teaching because we're we'll be back to solving leadership issues in real time. And so I just think it's all come together great for for my career.

00:07:34:10 - 00:07:55:20
Kevin Eikenberry
I love that. And, you know, I get we get books all the time. But people pitch us to him to be on the show. Not necessarily you personally, but someone, on your PR in your PR organization or whatever. And I get the book title ready to win. I'm like, okay. And then I read preparation and I'm like, okay, now every time I get a book, I take a look, certainly.

00:07:56:00 - 00:08:16:02
Kevin Eikenberry
But when I saw preparation, that really sort of got me more intrigued. And there's, there's, there's more in the book than just preparation. But, that's where I want us to focus, because as I said in the open, Matthew, I think that too often we don't we don't think about it enough. We don't spend enough time with it.

00:08:16:02 - 00:08:32:04
Kevin Eikenberry
And as I was reading the book, I think you give us some really good stuff about that. I'm curious, though, from your perspective, both from the coaching world and the business world, sell us on why we need to be more thoughtful about preparation.

00:08:32:05 - 00:09:03:07
Matthew Mitchell
Sure. I think what preparation does and what I've found over the years, and file this way under life is not fair. But if I, if I lack preparation, I'm virtually guaranteeing that I'm not going to be in position to to succeed. And, and when I do prepare and I start to do that and find a systematic way to prepare, Kevin, we begin to put ourselves in position to succeed more often.

00:09:03:07 - 00:09:26:01
Matthew Mitchell
And then, even when we prepare and maybe we fall short of the goal. We are informed by we're open to the lessons that, that are learned. And so we talk a lot about in the book about getting your mindset around, just being a constant prepare. And when you do that, you're just going to put you're going to show up.

00:09:26:03 - 00:09:54:05
Matthew Mitchell
And whether you meet the goal, reach the goal, or you fall short, you have you have now gone through a process where you're going to gain valuable information, whether it's a win or some people call it a loss. I've shifted away from from losing and to just lessons learned. And so that's where I think preparation over time is going to allow you to meet those goals and to achieve the productivity and everything that you're hoping to do.

00:09:54:07 - 00:10:23:06
Matthew Mitchell
And it is absolutely true in sports, and I've seen that over a 25 year coaching career in athletics. But over the last four years in business, it's 100% true as well. And so the the building blocks of performance are really rooted in preparation. And we say in the book, preparation will powerfully position you to win. And we believe it's such a key to our success.

00:10:23:08 - 00:10:49:09
Kevin Eikenberry
So one of the things that I talk about a lot in the, in the world in, in, excuse me, in the sphere of being a leader, there's there's few things that we can control. I mean, obviously, except ourselves. And so most everything we do as a leader is, comes from a place of influence. So when I read the line, in the book where you're comparing preparation in casinos, I loved it because you said the house always wins.

00:10:49:11 - 00:11:01:11
Kevin Eikenberry
And I want you to connect these ideas together, because I think it's so important because I think it then connects to a even bigger leadership point as well. So when you talk about those two things together, what are you saying?

00:11:01:13 - 00:11:27:14
Matthew Mitchell
Well, I think if you're in the, in the culture and, and the zeitgeist, you've heard that term, you know, the house always wins as it goes to casinos. And the point that I'm trying to make is that the casinos are are set up to they are prepared to be successful and they have a system and they have a method and they have marketing and they have, you know, the entertainment and all that.

00:11:27:14 - 00:11:51:03
Matthew Mitchell
But at the end of the day, they are going to win and they have a method toward that. And so I'm likening that to our process of being prepared and where we may not, always win like the House does. It will get us into a process that sets us up and positions us more powerfully than if we didn't prepare.

00:11:51:03 - 00:12:12:07
Matthew Mitchell
And so that's the concept that I'm trying to get across to people there is that we want to increase our chances for meeting the goal or meeting the objective. And when we follow the steps that are in this book, as I have, over my career, I've set myself up for consistent and sustained success.

00:12:12:09 - 00:12:35:05
Kevin Eikenberry
It improves our odds. Yes, we're better prepared. It improves our odds. You know, my dad never used to say the house always wins. He always used to say, there's a reason they have to pay for the electricity. The lights are always on. They're there. You know, he's saying something. And I think that point of how do we make how do we what are the things that we can do to improve our odds or our chances of winning?

00:12:35:05 - 00:13:00:13
Kevin Eikenberry
And certainly that could take us back to basketball as well. But as a leader, when we when we aren't in control, but rather trying to influence everything we can do to improve our odds. And certainly preparation is one of those things without question. So I think the thing that I will remember the most about the book, at least before we have this full conversation, because that might book other memories for me with this book.

00:13:00:13 - 00:13:21:03
Kevin Eikenberry
But the thing that I think hooks me the most of this book is the five levels of preparation. And, and I don't I've never heard it quite described in this way. I think it's incredibly useful. So can you walk us through that a little bit? And you've already used the phrase constant preparation, which is one of those levels, and we'll come back to that specifically.

00:13:21:03 - 00:13:29:07
Kevin Eikenberry
But can you sort of lay out the five and, and sort of help us see where we might be stopping?

00:13:29:09 - 00:13:58:07
Matthew Mitchell
Yes. So I would say that most people who are interested in in our discussion today, or who would be interested in buying a book on preparation, most, I think, probably are not, at the first two levels. The first two levels, the first one is casual, which is basically, if I have a financial plan, I walk into the convenience store and I see the lottery is, is worth $42 million.

00:13:58:07 - 00:14:19:10
Matthew Mitchell
And so, hey, here's, I'll make some money. I'll buy a lottery ticket there. And that's not really a lot of thought and preparation going on. The very casual approach to preparation. Cursory is totally surface, just a surface level, just the, the least amount of of effort you could give above being casual and so sort of totally disengaged.

00:14:19:12 - 00:14:42:12
Matthew Mitchell
I'm just trying to make people, I'm trying to appear as if I am, as if I am prepared. And I did this a lot in my early career when I tried to rely more on charisma than competency. So. So those first two levels would be, I would suspect that most people have moved beyond that if they're interested in the book.

00:14:42:14 - 00:15:05:18
Matthew Mitchell
I think where a lot of us live and where I'm trying to encourage people to rise above the level three, that's called a comply it level of preparation. And this is, a method of preparation, a level of preparation where I am really checking the box and I am people are telling me what I need to do there.

00:15:05:20 - 00:15:32:06
Matthew Mitchell
Hey, this is due on Friday. This is due next Friday, and we just check the box and we do, what what the. The minimum standard is where we are not in hot water, and we're not, you know, we're not going against anything that's anyone saying. But we certainly have not gotten to level four. So level four is where I really wants people to aspire to live.

00:15:32:08 - 00:16:00:17
Matthew Mitchell
If they're not there. And that is committed, that is being committed to preparation. And what this level does is I start to think more deeply about the performance I want to have. I start considering all the factors that could possibly, affect the outcome. And in my process, I am I am really, really committed to being fully prepared and I am going through the process that we describe in the book.

00:16:00:17 - 00:16:20:07
Matthew Mitchell
And then the fifth level, is where I want us all to aspire to be. So we're trying to we're trying to live, I say in the book, between level four and five, and if you get to five, you're really, really, cooking with gas, you know, at level five. And I've encountered some of these people who have been so inspirational in, in life.

00:16:20:09 - 00:16:45:11
Matthew Mitchell
And that's just a constant level of preparation. And that involves having really solid systems and all of the important areas of your business. And you have thought that through, and you have you have gone to the level of preparation that says that you, have a system really for how you're going to approach being prepared in all these important areas of performance.

00:16:45:11 - 00:17:01:15
Matthew Mitchell
And so the, the five levels of preparation are just a way to, to have a leader think about, where they're landing and then giving them a pathway and some methods on how to improve that and get to that highest level of preparation.

00:17:01:17 - 00:17:09:03
Kevin Eikenberry
Would it be safe to say that,

00:17:09:05 - 00:17:15:12
Kevin Eikenberry
The majority of organizations, are at level three?

00:17:15:14 - 00:17:45:14
Matthew Mitchell
That's been my experience when I've gone into companies and, and we're working through whatever challenges they're facing. It it is it is usually, the, the the leader or the CEO or the CEO or whoever, whoever I'm engaged with, they are possibly at a level four of commitment or a level five, but the organization is not. And so that's where we try to go in and, and really help them teach how to do that.

00:17:45:14 - 00:18:15:07
Matthew Mitchell
Listen, if I ask everybody on the that that's, that's, that's watching us today or listening. Yep. If they thought it would be a good idea to be honest and business and work hard in business and have discipline around your business, everybody you know of position. Yeah, that I think all those things are important. What we do is we teach how to how to bring those alive in your business and, and where it connects in a more specific way.

00:18:15:08 - 00:18:36:20
Matthew Mitchell
And preparation is one of the pillar points of hard work. You know, hard work does not mean I just go sit at my desk for ten hours. It involves some steps where you can make that effort come alive, and preparation is really the foundation, of being a really great producer and a and a and a person who gives great effort.

00:18:36:22 - 00:19:00:13
Kevin Eikenberry
In the book. You, you interview, you had a short interview, ask a couple of questions of Peyton Manning. Yeah. And, for those of you that might not know, Peyton Manning was, one of the best, professional quarterbacks in the NFL of all time. He's he's having tremendous success in business beyond that. And that's interesting as well at the end.

00:19:00:13 - 00:19:18:17
Kevin Eikenberry
But the first thing that you, the first thing he says, and you asked him about preparation because if you know anything about Peyton and having and living in Indianapolis, I know quite a bit about Peyton, as an observer for a number of years, he says, I've always been a big believer in work ethic and preparation. So he's oh, he's working those two things together, just like you just said.

00:19:18:19 - 00:19:35:12
Kevin Eikenberry
Here's the thing I found interesting, and let me just read it. Then you can comment. All competitors are looking for an edge. And I thought mine could come through preparation. I knew I wasn't going to be able outrun defenders, that's for sure. Or throw it the ball 80 yards down the field. But preparing harder and working harder gave me confidence I could find an advantage.

00:19:35:17 - 00:19:53:22
Kevin Eikenberry
And I think to me that's really interesting because regardless of sort of what else we see, we have in our at our fingertips and our toolkit at, you can you can always make the choice to prepare more effectively. There.

00:19:54:00 - 00:20:19:16
Matthew Mitchell
Well, there's there's two things we're in charge of that I've learned as a coach, and I wish I could be in charge of the players on the team. I wish I could take over this and be in charge of this, but this is where we personally have to show up. Our attitude. I have to control my attitude because I tell you, I've told the players, I'll tell I'll continue to tell them if if it were up to me, everybody to have a great attitude.

00:20:19:16 - 00:20:46:18
Matthew Mitchell
But it's unfortunately it doesn't happen that way. We have to own our attitude and then we have to own our effort. And those two things I think Payton captured just absolute perfectly hit the nail on the head and the concept behind interviewing him. He's a good friend of mine, but but he's, one of the top five quarterbacks in game winning drives in the fourth quarter.

00:20:46:20 - 00:21:06:21
Matthew Mitchell
And that that really speaks to his level of preparation, because when the stakes were the highest and the pressure was this was the toughest, he was able to make decisions that led his team to more victories than virtually anybody else, in the history of the game. And so that fascinated me. And I wanted to dig into that.

00:21:06:21 - 00:21:19:04
Matthew Mitchell
And I just thought he he gave some great insights on preparation. And, one of the highlights of the book and one of the real joys in me writing the book was, was having that conversation with Peyton.

00:21:19:06 - 00:21:42:07
Kevin Eikenberry
So I and and for those of you listening, if you're not, I hope that the, the occasional sporting reference is not keeping you from watching or listening if you're not a sports person. And yet I want you having a unique perspective that most of us don't have, and especially if you are a sports fan, I there's a couple of things I want to ask that maybe will be helpful.

00:21:42:09 - 00:22:17:01
Kevin Eikenberry
I would guess even the casual fan would say that in team sports we sort of have a pretty high expectation that coaches are going to prepare their teams. There's all sorts of conversation about how busy coaches are. They get all this stuff to do. But one of those things is the large amounts of preparation. What would you what would you tell us with your with your coaching hat on specifically about what what we need to know that you've learned from that specifically that will help the rest of us who aren't going to put a whistle on our neck.

00:22:17:03 - 00:22:19:06
Kevin Eikenberry
And coach a team.

00:22:19:07 - 00:22:56:04
Matthew Mitchell
Well, what I learned that's that's very, that pertains so well to the business world. It's about preparation and how athletics, really can instruct us and inform us is we're competing, in some shape or form. We're competing to produce and to perform, whether that's in sports or business. What I found was, as a leader, the more time that I would spend on preparation in specific areas of what drove winning.

00:22:56:06 - 00:23:19:17
Matthew Mitchell
And so the first thing that I think businesses have to do are what are the what are the what's the bread and butter of the business? What has to happen for us to be successful. So for instance, in basketball, all for us, one of the key indicators for us to win was the opponent turns the ball over or makes a mistake more than we do.

00:23:19:17 - 00:23:48:01
Matthew Mitchell
It's called turnover margin. So our turnovers are low, their turnovers are high. And that was a very important part of our business that didn't mean that it was part of Purdue women's basketball's business or Tennessees part of this. But for Kentucky, that was a bread and butter building block of what we had to do. So having identified that, now I must prepare the team and that specific area and what are all the components that go into that?

00:23:48:01 - 00:24:08:07
Matthew Mitchell
So I could I could give you a very long, boring story about all that. But but the point is, in your business what what is absolutely necessary because we can make a lot of things, Kevin, important. We can make a lot of things important. But what what is the core and the necessary actions in your business that must happen.

00:24:08:09 - 00:24:22:15
Matthew Mitchell
And you have to identify those and really dig into those details and then get a plan and you're prepared because that's the place where the execution must be at its absolute highest level.

00:24:22:17 - 00:24:34:18
Kevin Eikenberry
I love that. I really do love that. Oh, I want to go back to constant preparation, because you have a formula to help us get to that level five of constant preparation. Do you want to share a little bit about that for a second?

00:24:34:20 - 00:25:03:08
Matthew Mitchell
Well, what what the constant preparer that I learned from was a great fortune. I met this this, incredible leader. Tom and Ernie has become a great friend and mentor and who has developed, a very successful insurance business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And Tom taught me how important, a system, a system is for you to be in constant preparation.

00:25:03:09 - 00:25:27:09
Matthew Mitchell
And so he was like, Matthew, what are what are the what are the areas for you to be a great recruiter? Identify those and then start to build a system that's going to ensure that you're ready to complete those tasks with excellence. And that was the big key with with Tom was, was we are going to strive for excellence in these areas.

00:25:27:11 - 00:25:53:23
Matthew Mitchell
And the more we're prepared, the better the tighter we get our system, the more the more dialed in your system is. Then that frees you up to be more creative, to be more thoughtful, to discover more because you're not constantly fooling around with just what is the process. And so systematization is so important for us if we really want to achieve that constant level of preparation.

00:25:53:23 - 00:26:16:02
Matthew Mitchell
So Tom has a system for how his week's going to unfold and what percentage is going to be business and what percentage is going to be spent on him thinking, and what percentage is going to be, devoted to his physical health. And so all those things. So the so that was the big lesson and the story that I share in the book that I think is, is interesting about that part of the journey for me.

00:26:16:02 - 00:26:22:02
Matthew Mitchell
And I'd invite people to really dig into that because I think it's some very useful information.

00:26:22:04 - 00:26:47:07
Kevin Eikenberry
I want to ask you one more question that that that starts with sports, but it doesn't need to end there. Right? So you talk in the book, there's there's a chapter about strategy and you talk a little bit about this and there's a, there's a story earlier and we won't I won't bother people with that story, but there's sort of from a, from a coaching perspective, there's, there's kind of two there's sort of two ways to prepare.

00:26:47:09 - 00:27:17:19
Kevin Eikenberry
Am I preparing based on what I know about my opponent? Or am I preparing based on our process mastering what we do. Right. And so before you answer, I want to share the story that I heard multiple times. And I believe it was told originally by Bill Walton. And he said, the only time I remember Coach Wooden really having us focus on the opponent, and I think it might have been Notre Dame was the game we lost.

00:27:17:21 - 00:27:38:13
Kevin Eikenberry
Coach Wooden's approach was very much about we're going to focus on us. And I'm curious because I think from a strategic perspective outside of basketball, this is a critical question for us to consider. How do you how do you what's your take about balancing those two because you're not ignoring the opponent.

00:27:38:19 - 00:27:40:22
Matthew Mitchell
Right? Right. Yeah.

00:27:41:00 - 00:27:51:06
Kevin Eikenberry
Where are you. Where where do you when you're at your best as a coach, where do you where do you find that balance. And and what's your advice for us around that.

00:27:51:08 - 00:28:16:13
Matthew Mitchell
So this is a great way to explain it is is through sports. But it totally relates to business and to your performance. And no matter what type of industry you're in. But so for the majority, the overwhelming majority of our time, we are focused on our process and what we are doing. We don't ignore, industry trends.

00:28:16:18 - 00:28:41:08
Matthew Mitchell
We that's part of our process is to stay up, stay nimble, stay agile, and so you are you are absolutely examining the market. And and you can see what competitors are doing. But the majority of our time we are rooted in our process of what makes us successful. So defensively, it was it's very, much like what, Bill Walton was describing.

00:28:41:08 - 00:29:06:00
Matthew Mitchell
We are trying to do what we do really well, and we believe that the the opponent has to adjust to us because we're so rooted in what we do and what our process is. That's where I think you get so great, because you are rooted in your fundamentals and you're not constantly changing to meet some moment that, that, that an opponent, poses to you or the market, opposed to you.

00:29:06:02 - 00:29:34:09
Matthew Mitchell
You are you have done this over and over and over. Your fundamentals are solid. Your process is solid. So that's the majority of the time. Now in basketball, where we really start to dig in to the opponent. It's what we call special situations where, whether it be the end of the game, the end of the clock, a time where there's a pause and they're taking the ball out of bounds, that's not in the regular flow of your rhythm.

00:29:34:09 - 00:30:01:02
Matthew Mitchell
We dig very much into the details there, and we prepare very hard, because at the end of the game, people start to get into some high pressure situations. And if you're not prepared, it's not exactly like the normal flow of the game. So you must be able to to identify what is the special situation. Watching the NCAA tournament this last year, end of game.

00:30:01:04 - 00:30:27:18
Matthew Mitchell
It just showed people who were prepared and who were not. And so you've got to identify that in your business. What are those high stress moments that are a bit unusual. And then you must dig into the details and get your team prepared. And that was that. That's that's how I would, describe how we approach that balance of, of whether, how much time we spend on us and how much time we were responding to the market or to the competition.

00:30:27:20 - 00:30:42:20
Kevin Eikenberry
I love that. Thank you for, diving into that for us. I think it's really, really great advice. Is there anything that you thought I would ask or hoped I would ask that I didn't know?

00:30:42:20 - 00:31:06:23
Matthew Mitchell
I think it's been such a great conversation. I think one thing I would mention that I would encourage people to read the book, that that has been a powerful event in my leadership and that I would like to share is a is is what, my pursuit of perfection did to my mindset, to my attitude, to my career.

00:31:07:01 - 00:31:22:12
Matthew Mitchell
I was on a pursuit to be perfect. I was on a pursuit to be the best coach in the world. And that really opened up a lot of negative things for me. It opened up a lot of roadblocks, a lot of obstacles that I would face, because if you're trying to be perfect, you have to get it all perfect.

00:31:22:14 - 00:31:45:02
Matthew Mitchell
All these things come into play. And so I, a few years back, made a shift from perfection, which in many ways would paralyze my leadership to, shifted to excellence, to pursuing excellence each and every day. And so in excellence, I'm exhilarated. I see all the opportunities. I'm not thinking about all the pitfalls that perfection brings to me.

00:31:45:04 - 00:31:57:23
Matthew Mitchell
And so excellence is its own reward is a mindset that I, challenged the reader to, to adopt so they can really open up the power of preparation.

00:31:58:01 - 00:32:11:03
Kevin Eikenberry
I love that, and, I'm really glad that we had the chance to talk about that. A couple of things before we go. What do you do, Matthew? Coach. Matthew, what do you do for fun?

00:32:11:05 - 00:32:31:05
Matthew Mitchell
Oh, gosh, I have a lot of fun. I, I, love music, and so I sing. I have the Coach Mitchell band and we play about ten, 12 times a year. And it it's it's as Kevin, it's as much fun as I could ever, think about having. And, it's like I tell people they're like, aren't you nervous to get up there?

00:32:31:05 - 00:32:50:01
Matthew Mitchell
And I said, listen, I have more fun than any show that I play. I have more fun than anybody else. So I literally do it for fun and, and, and, and so that's a lot of fun. And then, I love to, to, my wife and I and kids, we love to, to travel and see new places and experience experience new things.

00:32:50:01 - 00:33:03:01
Matthew Mitchell
I was a history teacher when I was the high school teacher and coach. And so I love, love history and, enjoy that. So, it is those are some of the things that I do for fun.

00:33:03:03 - 00:33:10:22
Kevin Eikenberry
I love that, the only thing you knew for sure I would ask you, is this what are you reading these days?

00:33:11:00 - 00:33:36:08
Matthew Mitchell
I'm reading a couple of things right now, and so I'm always trying to read, something that I can learn from. And then, every now and then, I try to get myself a chance to read something that's, entertaining. So the Last King of America by Andrew Roberts is about King George the Third. That was the that that had a fascinating reign as the king of England.

00:33:36:10 - 00:33:39:15
Kevin Eikenberry
And, that's the history teacher in you coming out, right?

00:33:39:15 - 00:33:58:12
Matthew Mitchell
Yeah, yeah. And so that's a really it's it's a huge book. It's, it's it's, taking some time to get through, but it's very, very interesting. And, is, is, makes me think so that one is, is happening. And then a good friend of mine, I'd love to plug her book is a novel. She's a first time author.

00:33:58:12 - 00:34:18:06
Matthew Mitchell
Beth Pride is her name. And she's got a wonderful novel called Back to Blue Holly that is, that is a fiction book. But I'm so proud of her. And and it is such an entertaining read. And, I am about halfway through that right now, and just, I love opening that up every night, right before I go to bed.

00:34:18:06 - 00:34:21:22
Matthew Mitchell
And so I'm having some fun with my reading right now.

00:34:21:23 - 00:34:39:02
Kevin Eikenberry
Back to blue Holly and the Last King of America. And ready to win. Yes. The links to all of those will be in the show notes for all of you, for sure. Coach, where can we learn more about your work? Where do you want to point people before we start to close up?

00:34:39:04 - 00:35:00:17
Matthew Mitchell
Yeah, I'd love to invite people to listen to my podcast comes out every Wednesday. That's, real simple. It's called The Coach Matthew Mitchell Show. And we discuss, leadership and and life and personal growth. And we have a good time. And we have some fun guests on there, from time to time. So love to invite people to, to to go to that show coach Matthew mitchell.com.

00:35:00:17 - 00:35:24:05
Matthew Mitchell
You can we have a ton of of of really accessible free resources for people to improve their leadership, but also some leadership content that can help your team, organization, business move forward. And, and then I'm on social, on the, all the platforms at coach Matthew Mitchell. So love for people to check out the winning tools and see what they could do to help them in their life.

00:35:24:07 - 00:35:46:03
Kevin Eikenberry
All right. Thank you, Coach Mitchell. Before we go, everybody, the question I ask you all every week and every week means this week two and it's the most important question I could ask you after you've had the chance to be, informed and inspired for 30 plus minutes. And that would be okay. Now, what what action will you take as a result?

00:35:46:03 - 00:36:05:18
Kevin Eikenberry
Because it's fine and dandy, if you will, to learn from this. And, maybe you leave with a good story and maybe leave with a nice, warm feeling and maybe you'll even lead with some new conviction. But until you take action, what point, will it have been? Right. So, like, maybe it's spending some time thinking about what the bread and butter in your businesses.

00:36:05:18 - 00:36:26:09
Kevin Eikenberry
Maybe it's thinking a little bit more about, are we focusing more externally or internally? Maybe. I don't know what that is for you, but I do know that there were plenty of nuggets here, and the transformation from you from an idea or an inspiration or some education to action will make all the difference. And I hope that you will do exactly that.

00:36:26:11 - 00:36:34:03
Kevin Eikenberry
Our guest has been Coach Matthew Mitchell. Matthew, it's been a pleasure to have you. Thanks so much for being here.

00:36:34:05 - 00:36:38:02
Matthew Mitchell
Thank you. Kevin is awesome. I hope we can do it again sometime.

00:36:38:04 - 00:36:56:19
Kevin Eikenberry
I do too. And speaking of again sometime, wherever you watch this or listen to this, make sure you're subscribed and make sure you're letting people know that they want to come listen to because we're here every week. And next week we'll be back with another episode of the Remarkable Leadership Podcast.