Lenawee Now and The Align Center for Workforce Development hosted nearly 200 people to see award-winning author, speaker, and business coach John U. Bacon at the Christian Family Centre on October 30, 2023. VIPS had the opportunity to meet John Live at the VIP Lunch before his presentation before attending his keynote speech. Event sponsors were invited to stay for leadership training with Bacon afterward.
John U. Bacon is an award-winning speaker, author, and executive coach who has worked with companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Ford Motor. As a writer, he has covered sports, on the local, national, and global levels, for over twenty years. In 1998, he covered the Nagano Olympics. Throughout his career, wrote for The New York Times, ESPN, and Time Magazine. In addition to writing articles, Bacon has authored twelve books on health, business, and history. His manuscript, Let Them Lead: Unexpected Lessons in Leadership from America’s Worst High School Hockey Team shares his account of his experiences taking the Huron High School River Rats from the worst team in the nation to number four in the state.
The VIP Luncheon allowed leaders to network, have lunch, and hear content from John that was not featured in his keynote address. Attendees received a free copy of Bacon’s manuscript, at the V.I.P. Luncheon. After his remarks, sponsors were invited to get a photograph of John U Bacon and have their book signed.
The keynote address attracted changemakers from across Lenawee County, as well as students from Morenci and Lenawee Christian Schools, Hudson Area Schools, the Lenawee Intermediate School District, and Siena Heights University. Over the course of his speech, Bacon shared his experience coaching the Huron High School River Rats and how he created a culture of accountability and discipline.
Bacon noted that when he started coaching the team, the River Rats had a record of 0-23-3 for the previous season, and described his process for changing the team’s trajectory. His strategy to create a successful program was to make it challenging, set lofty goals, and hold the team accountable to each other. Bacon shared how one of his old mentors noted that by making something hard, attaining that thing becomes special. In the summer leading up to the hockey season, he sent out a letter to the hockey players, informing them that they were trying out for the hardest-working hockey team in the league, and challenged them with intense workouts in the heat of the summer. Bacon applied this principle to the workplace, it’s important to sell vision, not salary. He noted that organizations that promote themselves as places with Casual Fridays and Taco Tuesdays are likely to get the sort of people who want casual Fridays and Taco Tuesdays.
In addition to challenging them, Bacon set a major goal for the Huron Hockey Program. Rather than set his sights on an average season he declared to his players eventually the River Rats were going to win a championship, but this feat would be a few years down the road.
To create a culture of accountability, Bacon established principles, not rules. He had two main principles, work hard and support the team. No matter the score or the player, Bacon based success on whether the team applied those two principles. Many facets of what these principles looked like in actuality were left up to the players’ discretion. The team had to determine the level of commitment and work ethic.
In just three seasons, the Huron Hockey team had a record of 17-4-5, ranking them fourth in the state, and fifty-third in the nation.
At the sponsors-only leadership training, John U. Bacon demonstrated concepts of collaboration and team success with a short exercise. He gave a scenario of a broomstick without the brush and individuals at each table were tasked to collaborate for three minutes and find 25 or more different uses for the handle. The quality of the hypothetical uses did not matter, provided the participants came up with the desired number of ideas within the time constraints. At the end of the exercise, all the groups came up with over 30 concepts for the broomstick, and almost none of them were impossible.
Bacon used the assignment to illustrate the importance of deadlines, setting high goals, and committing to progress.
According to Bacon, it is imperative to make a deadline and avoid moving it. Bacon pointed out, that if groups had been given two hours, there would have been a great deal of procrastinating, and any productive ideas would have only happened for the last few minutes. Furthermore, the daunting goal of generating 25 concepts in a short amount of time was very motivating.
Allowing any idea to be added regardless of quality reduced pressure among participants and allowed for a number of ideas that could be analyzed, assessed, and modified. Bacon pointed out that modifying and editing would be impossible with a blank page and related this to his experience as a writer. After several revisions to the manuscript, it is often very different from the one with which the writer began, but Bacon emphasized the importance of starting with something and making consistent progress.
Following his leadership commentary Bacon fielded questions. Throughout the course of his work with Lenawee change makers, John U Bacon had many excellent points, engaging anecdotes, and a high level of energy. According to Pat Farver, Executive Director at Lenawee Now: “Lenawee Now and the Align Center for Workforce Development Continue to bring world-class training and educational opportunities to its businesses and residents. Today’s event was an example of this exciting initiative that continues to empower individuals with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving global landscape. By fostering a culture of learning and innovation Lenawee Now is laying the foundation for a brighter future, where its citizens can unlock their full potential and contribute to the growth and prosperity of the community.”
We would like to thank our partners and sponsors, Partners: Greater Lenawee Chamber of Commerce, Bill Kenyon Book Level: Creek Enterprise, Silver Level: Adrian Steel, Bronze Level: County National Bank, Brazeway, Clift Buick GMC The Farver Foundation, Adrian College, Bill Kenyon, Planewave Instruments, Hanson Inc. Anderson-Marry Funeral Home, Adrian Mechanical Services.