Winners Never Quit and Quitters Never Win

July 13, 2016 by

perseverance over victimhoodThis inspiring quote about perseverance comes from an inspiring man—Vince Lombardi, Head Coach of The Green Bay Packers. You and your team can take these words off the football field and into your conference room. While I was CEO of HR Solutions, I had the pleasure of consulting with hundreds of world-class organizations and seeing firsthand what contributed to their success. Those who scored in the top 10% on their employee engagement surveys were considered “Best-in-Class” and were always an inspiration to me. Interestingly, they shared one uncanny commonality: they chose perseverance over victimhood.

Many of these organizations had faced calamities such as industry downturns, sudden executive deaths, and employee thefts, and yet, they kept moving. What a great best practice to put in place: keep moving. In times like these, momentum is your best friend; this is also true when you face personal trauma or challenges. Keep moving.

Conversely, I also worked with hundreds of organizations that might be called “Worst-in-Class,” since they scored in the bottom 10% of our employee engagement survey database. They also shared a commonality: when facing adversity, instead of persevering and continuing to move forward, they gave up and chose victimhood. Their circumstances weren’t any more challenging than those of other organizations, but the way they responded made bad situations even worse.

As the saying goes, “You haven’t lost until you quit trying.” (For you Chicago Bears fans out there, this quote is often attributed to Mike Ditka, Hall of Fame football player and 1985 Super Bowl winning coach.)  I doubt he was the first to say it, but in any case, it’s great advice.  Whether you’re on the field or at a desk, believe in yourself, train hard, stay focused, and never quit!

 

Image source: SI.com

 

 

Kevin Sheridan is an internationally-recognized Keynote Speaker, a New York Times Best Selling Author, and one of the most sought-after voices in the world on the topic of Employee Engagement. For five years running, he has been honored on Inc. Magazine’s top 100 Leadership Speakers in the world, as well as Inc.’s top 100 experts on Employee Engagement. He was also honored to be named to The Employee Engagement Award’s Top 101 Global Influencers on Employee Engagement of 2017.

Having spent thirty years as a high-level Human Capital Management consultant, Kevin has helped some of the world’s largest corporations rebuild a culture that fosters productive engagement, earning him several distinctive awards and honors. Kevin’s premier creation, PEER®, has been consistently recognized as a long-overdue, industry-changing innovation in the field of Employee Engagement. His first book, Building a Magnetic Culture, made six of the best seller lists including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. He is also the author of The Virtual Manager, which explores how to most effectively manage remote workers.

Kevin received a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School in 1988, concentrating his degree in Strategy, Human Resources Management, and Organizational Behavior. He is also a serial entrepreneur, having founded and sold three different companies.

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Email: kevin@kevinsheridanllc.com