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Key Takeaways Proven, underestimated talent plus clear leadership outperforms pedigree, brand recognition and tradition.
Belief, discipline and execution turn structural change into sustained competitive advantage.
By now, we have all learned there is a new sheriff in the world of college football. No, not my beloved alma mater, Michigan. Not other “blue bloods” like Alabama, Georgia, Texas or Ohio State. It is the team that, up until two years ag,o had more losses than any other program in history: the Indiana Hoosiers.
In just two years since the hiring of their head coach, Curt Cignetti, they sit alone atop college football as the 16-0 national champion this year, including three wins over teams ranked in the top five (tripling such top-five ranked wins in their entire 138-year history).
How was this even possible? This worst-to-first story will go down as one of the greatest stories in college football history.
Let’s dissect this further, as there are a lot of valuable business lessons to be gleaned here for your businesses.
To summarize how this amazing turnaround happened for Indiana, it came down to the following things: market conditions changed to their benefit; ownership embraced the desire to win at football; they hired a smart leader; the leader had a clear vision of the type of team he wanted to recruit; and, lastly, they all bought into the vision, believing the impossible was actually possible, and put in the hard work to make it happen.
Let’s dig into each of these points.
Market conditions changed in college football
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