Simply put, great salesmanship.
As a Rutgers Alumni, I was surprised when Greg Schiano was hired as the coach of the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I was not surprised that he left Rutgers since he had been a coach for over eleven years and did an excellent job bringing this program from perennial doormat to a consistent winner; however, I felt, on paper, there were probably dozens of coaches who were more qualified to be the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
(Note, Schiano is no longer the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He coached there for three years.)
Greg Schiano, if you base it on wins, was an average coach. His overall record was .500. People cite that he had a much better winning record since 2006, but don't inform you that a lot of those wins came playing really weak schedule, outside the conference teams. If you look at his record against the Big East (weakest of all BCS conference), he was at best a .500 coach.
A fair Rutgers Professor would give him a "B" grade based on the true test of a coach: Wins. Professors don't weigh other things that much besides your graes on tests. So how did he get an "A" for being just average?
This is real world, not academic world, where perception becomes reality. In sales, perception is reality too.
How did Schiano change the game to get an "A"?
This is an important lesson that sales people or, anyone who has to sell, can learn. Before we look at how he changed the game, let's list some of his strengths and weaknesses.
Here were Schiano's strengths:
1) He built a program that was the worst in college football to a winning program and gaining respectability.
2) He made Rutgers relevant in NJ and in tri-state area.
3) He ran a clean program that was always top 10 academically.
4) He won lots of games and went 5 -1 in bowl games.
5) He developed players that went on to succeed in the NFL, such as Ray Rice, Kenny Britt, Anthony Davis, Devin McCourty, Brian Leonard being the notable ones.
In a nutshell, Schiano built a college football program, developed players to excel in class and in the NFL and created a buzz for the Rutgers football program that never existed before. He put Rutgers Football program on the map. He has to be given credit for all that. He earned it.
Here were Schiano's weaknesses:
1) He won only one meaningful game at Rutgers and that came in 2006 against Louisville which was televised by ESPN.
2) He padded his record by playing against very weak teams in September and made the bowl games going essentially ,500 against Big East teams and winning against an average bowl game opponent.
3) He coached in the the weakest BCS conference.
4) He never won the Big East Title.
5) He never beat West Virginia, a marquee football team in the BE, in his eleven years at Rutgers.
So how did he get the Tamp Bay job?
Here is how he did it. He essentially presented a vision to win the super bowl, developed a game plan to make that happen, and help promote his vision to the Tampa Bay community. His message was simple: winning, winning big and making lots of money for the owners This is the mark of a great salesman. Owners care about only two things: winning and making money, perhaps not in that order.
He was able to neutralize his weaknesses with solid references around the league, such as Bill Belichick and others. And he was able to accentuate his strengths with a proven track record at Rutgers. The rest of it has to do with his outstanding communication and leadership skills. And this is how you turn a "B" to an"A".
Will Rutgers Professor be teaching this to their students? I doubt it.
Schiano not only taught football, but also on how to win in this competitive real world. Now you too can apply this lesson to your chosen profession and turn a "B" into an "A."
Good Luck!
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Jay Oza is the founder and business development consultant at 5ToolGroup, a company that specializes in helping startups and small companies bring innovation to market within 90 days through our unique 5Tool Methodology that integrates sales, marketing, partnerships, customer development and agile/lean methodology to enable frugal or ("Jugaad") innovation with a strong business focus. We believe that to thrive today, you have to constantly be looking for ways to do lot more with lot less. This has proven to be the only insurance for success today.
You can reach me at jay@5toolgroup.com.
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