Staying Ready For The Next Big Thing

We all have disappointments in our careers. We didn’t bag the dream job or a client decided to part ways before we did our best work.

While we feel them sharply, ultimately, we have to learn what we can from them and move on.

If you’re an NFL coach, the game is played a bit differently. Besides all of your moves being insanely visible and widely critiqued, when you lose your job, it’s usually at the end of the season. That means your next hope to be hired will be almost a year away.

How do you stay sharp until you can get back in the game?

Newly named Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy did something I’ve not heard of another fired coach doing before. After being canned by Green Bay in 2018, he created The McCarthy Project.

It was his way to address what he felt were legitimate concerns that led to his firing (i.e. he wanted to learn some new skills), but it was also how to stay sharp and relevant so he’d have another shot at a head coaching job before retiring.

He set up shop in a converted barn—invited some other coaches who were between gigs—and met every Monday through Friday for a year to analyze pro and college games. They watched video, covered boards with analysis and stayed tuned to every nuance in the game.

And now here he is with a fresh chance to prove himself in Dallas.

We consultants are lucky in comparison—we don’t usually have to sit on the bench for a year and we don’t have to hope and pray for one of the maybe six or seven jobs that will open up.

So when those challenges come—and they will—remind yourself to stay in the game. Keep your hand in what’s happening in your specialty and keep sharp. Because your next opportunity just might be the best one yet…