When Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin was asked how he helped his team stay motivated after the Arizona Cardinals took their lead away in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, he memorably responded:
"Steeler football is 60 minute football."
That was a much more articulate statement than the one former Yankee manager Yogi Berra made when he infamously said: "It ain't over 'til it's over."
The sentiment is the same though. As long as the game clock is still running -- or there's still one inning left to play -- the game isn't over.
Recently a distraught parent complained to me that their son -- an aspiring sports administrator -- seemed to quit trying to win a job offer in the middle of the interviews. From their narrative, I got the impression that he had either decided that he no longer wanted the job or felt that he was so obviously qualified that the interviewer should simply give him the position without further discussion.
As a result, he wasn't getting job offers and he was becoming more and more despondent. When I spoke with his parents, I suggested that they use a sports metaphor that would enable their son to see how he was sabotaging himself. Basically what I told them is, that quitting in the middle of an interview is like quitting in the middle of a game. It doesn't matter whether you're winning or losing -- if you quit in the middle of the game, the other team wins.
Mike Tomlin reminded me that winning teams never give up. They play their hardest right until the very end. This doesn't guarantee a win; but it helps to know that you did your best and, win or lose, you never gave up.
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