Not a big fan of using this blog space to celebrate people I know. But I must tell you about Chuck Koeppen, the retiring Carmel High School Cross Country coach.
You see, Koeppen has been at coaching for 37 years–and he won, are you ready for this?–23 Indiana State Championships in both track and CC.
Tonight, I sat through a retirement party, where most of his past runners attended. Many spoke. Some cried.
As a coach of business people, I’m always interested to understand the phenomena of success, regardless of the endeavor. So did these people honoring Chuck give me any clues? Here they are, in no order:
- 1. We Are Family. I always thought cross country was an individual sport. Not so on Koeppen’s team. I heard over and over how a runner would slow down temporarily and help a teammate if he was struggling on the course. That was Koeppens’ rule–you are a team. When’s the last time you reached out to a fellow sales person if he was in a slump? If not, do you wonder why no one reaches out to you?
- Emphatic About Training. During the off season, he would have his runners up at 5:30 every morning to do “the loop.” No one loved it–but they all did it, including Koeppen himself. Every morning. Do you train like this? Do you role play? Do you practice? Do you ask your clients why they use you so you can get insight into their motives–thereby helping you to understand prospects better?
- Being Tough When You Need to be. On one occasion, he made his runners run home from an Away meet because they performed so terribly. (Probably couldn’t do that now. Not politically correct. Parents would surely come unglued.) But everyone remembered that. It made them better. Are you tough with people when you need to be?
- Total Sharing of Secrets. This guy epitomizes the concept of Abundance. Anytime another - competing - coach called Chuck to ask a question, Koeppen was always forthcoming about his technique, training regimen etc., Always felt that by raising others, he raised himself.
- Saw The Best In Others — Even When They Didn’t. Too many stories about people who transferred in — who were mediocre at their former schools–who blossomed when they got to Koeppen. You sales managers/ RVPs–are your people blossoming under you? Are you their inspiration–or just a manager? Do they thank you for bringing out their best?
Thought you might like to see a champion outside the sales/business world. We can learn a lot from coaches who care about their teams–who inspire them to greatness–and who devote their lives to those around them.
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looking for a new career. I also recently heard people lamenting that “I send out hundreds of resumes and get no calls back.” What were you expecting? Were you expecting someone to sift through the stack of resumes to find yours, and be so impressed with your bs that they would immediately have their HR person get you on the phone and schedule an interview—or maybe hire you on the spot. Not likely.
You don’t know this but Joe Kelner is your competition. Well, to be fair, Joe is just graduating from high school—but four years from now he’ll be competing for your job.
The fact is that nothing happens until someone sells something.
