Lead Like Butler. Six Principles for Values-Based Leaders. Kent Millard. Judith Cebula. Foreword by Brad Stevens. Abingdon Press.

Transcription

1 Lead Like Butler

2 Lead Like Butler Six Principles for Values-Based Leaders Kent Millard Judith Cebula Foreword by Brad Stevens Abingdon Press Nashville

3 Lead Like Butler: Six Principles for Values-Based Leaders Copyright 2012 Abingdon Press All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission can be addressed to Permissions, The United Methodist Publishing House, P.O. Box 801, 201 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN , or ed to Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data ISBN Scripture quotations unless noted otherwise are from the Common English Bible. Copyright 2011 by the Common English Bible. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible, Holman CSB, and HCSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked RSV are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

4 Foreword Contents Introduction 1. Humility 2. Passion 3. Unity 4. Servanthood 5. Thankfulness 6. Accountability Epilogue Notes

5 Foreword I was twenty-three years old when I decided to leave my job as a marketing associate at Eli Lilly to pursue a career in coaching. I had a few small-school opportunities, but ultimately chose to be a graduate manager at Butler University. I chose Butler (it s actually hard to say I chose something, when I was actually going to be paying to be there!) for two reasons. First, I believed in their newly appointed head coach, Thad Matta, whom I had met working Butler s basketball camps. Second, I was intrigued by the Butler program and its success in the late 1990s. Even though I was raised right up the road, worked camps, and considered myself a fan of the program, I couldn t pinpoint what had transformed Butler from a solid program to one that could play with the biggest programs on any stage. My curiosity was quenched almost immediately after joining the program. In the spring of 2000, I walked into the locker-room, and the first thing that I noticed were five core values listed on a sign on the wall. It was relayed to me that those core values had adorned that wall since In the mid-90s, Butler Head Coach Barry Collier (our current athletic director) traveled with Bowling Green s Jim Larranaga to meet with Wisconsin head coach, Dick Bennett. Coach Bennett had a very accomplished coaching career at UW-Stevens Point and UW-Green Bay before becoming the head coach at Wisconsin. He was renowned for his game coaching and his offensive and defensive strategies. However, what struck Coach Collier most about that summer meeting was Bennett s emphasis on the importance of his five core values: Passion, Unity, Servanthood, Thankfulness, and Humility. All biblical in nature, these values were at the foundation of Coach Bennett s program. And in the past decade and a half, these values have guided Butler basketball to new heights. Coach Collier was the architect of this culture. As a head coach, he ran a value-based program that became one of the most respected in the country. And now as an administrator, he embodies and embraces those very same values that lead him to such great success as a coach. By doing so, he has created an environment in which his employees feel empowered to work hard and do things the right way.

6 Spend time with him, and you immediately know that he loves Butler and wants it to thrive in the longterm. Exuded by Coach Tony Hinkle, led by Barry Collier, coined by Thad Matta, and first defined by Todd Lickliter, The Butler Way was introduced as a slogan to describe our desire to strive in a valuesbased basketball program. Eleven years ago I was sitting in Coach Lickliter s office with the door closed, scribbling down notes on how to define our program s mission, vision, and The Butler Way. That attempt to define The Butler Way included the following bullet points to hammer home what is required to play basketball at Butler. Place the well-being of teammates before individual desires. Embrace the process of growth. Execute the Butler system. Demonstrate toughness in every circumstance. It s fun for me to think back to those meetings in Coach Lickliter s office and to all of the thought that he put into building on the culture at Butler. Like his predecessors, his desire to do great work continues to impact Butler every day, and played a large role in success on and off the court. As I reflect on my first twelve years at Butler, I m thankful for all the great people that I ve had a chance to work with and coach. Our coaching staffs and administrative staffs have been terrific. Our players have been awesome to coach. I feel indebted to those head coaches who came before me because those values and thoughts that adorn our walls are things that have helped me grow as a person, a husband, a father, and a coach. As we always tell our players, when you play at Butler, there s a responsibility to represent your school and this program to the very best of your ability. You have the road map. If you do that, you ll have a great experience, and your highlights will continue long past your time as a college basketball player. Brad Stevens