Blunder

“It helps to be deeply knowledgeable about an area, to know the people, to know the language, to know the history, the culture, the literature, but it is not a guarantee that you will have the right strategy or policy as a matter of statecraft for dealing with that area. You see, the great experts in certain areas sometimes get it fundamentally wrong … Expertise is a very good thing, but it is not the same thing as sound judgment regarding strategy and policy.”

— Jeffrey Goldberg, “A Little Learning” New Yorker

Separate passion from reason. Ego from practicality. Sound judgment from personal interest.  For coaches at any level, decision-making is paramount; it can be paralyzing, or it can be invigorating. You can read books, study film, or attend coaching clinics until the clock hits all zeros, but no excerpt or lecture guarantees you that success. But, it is all the quotes highlighted, videos examined, and coaches you hobnobbed with to help prepare you to avoid making insidious mistakes. I found this book Blunder by Zachary Shore that shares historic accounts identifying how even some of the most adept thinkers can become trapped in their own rigid mindsets leading to cloudy judgment and poor decisions. What may separate coaches from effectively leading and losing a locker room is in his/her ability to possess clarity during decision-making. Shore mentions how complex problems typically have complex causes, and there is no single factor to making a smart solution, but this book can help you identify destructive mental habits and escape your own cognitive traps. Sometimes the hardest decision to  make is the right one. Let me help, pick this book up.