Posts by Fran Tarkenton
Are You Still Learning?
I played in the National Football League for 18 years. I played in 246 regular season games with 239 starts, plus 11 more playoff games, including 3 Super Bowls. There aren’t many, before or since, who have played more. But here’s the thing: after all that time, all that experience, I was still learning and…
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The 3 Ways to Build a Team
The NFL Draft, coming up in just a few weeks, is the most high-profile job hiring process in the world. Think about it: athletes spend years playing in high school and college, building up a resume and attracting the attention of the 32 NFL teams. Then hundreds of top candidates are put under a microscope…
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Narcissistic Leadership is No Leadership
There is a crisis of leadership today. I’m not just talking about politics, although that qualifies, too. I mean visible leadership at all levels, in all parts of life. To many, the people in leadership positions often look like self-serving narcissists. Whether it’s the politician who will say anything to get elected, the business executive…
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How to Succeed Like Peyton Manning
The arc of a professional football player’s life is unique. The average NFL player’s career lasts for around three years. After spending your whole life working hard to get to that point, it can end in the blink of an eye. A player who is “retired” at age 27 has decades of life ahead of…
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Know Your Limitations
We are all so scared of being inadequate. At some point in our lives, we look in the mirror and say, “I’m not handsome enough. I’m not pretty enough. I have this little blotch. I’m not tall enough, or I’m too tall. I’m not in good enough shape. I don’t have the right body type.…
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Pound the Rock
Everybody is looking for the easy way out, for the easy road to success. I call it looking for a silver bullet. Lord knows every huckster in the world is out there, and they are yelling and screaming, “I’ve got the answer you need! I can make you a millionaire overnight! I’ve the secret formula!…
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The Power of Experimental Innovators
Successful small business owners and entrepreneurs come in all different types. They can have a lot of different interests, backgrounds, and styles. I recently read Originals, the newest book by Adam Grant, professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. I’ve loved his past work, and he has more great insights and ideas…
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The Key to Being an Original
Innovation and creativity is the driver of American small business. We are always looking for ways to do things better. We want to create a better product, find a more efficient way to operate a business, discover new ways to reach people, and so on. We have to stand out from our competitors. We can’t…
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Innovation Requires Risk
The engine of American business is small business and entrepreneurism. And the engine of small business is innovation. To generate an atmosphere of innovation around your business, you need to have a sense of desperation and willingness to take risks. Despite their massive resources, huge R&D budgets, armies of employees and consultants, and other advantages,…
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Every Detail Matters
One of the things that has struck me throughout the years is the attention that the most successful people pay to every little detail. The best leaders aren’t content to oversee things from on high and trust that it gets done; they stay personally involved, and don’t miss a thing. I will never forget what…
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