Decoding the DNA of a Champion: 7 Tips for Success

In any business, you’re in the relationship business--and can take a cue from sports champions who know how to win at life.

Nov 07, 2024

While it’s easy to focus on the day-to-day work any job (including farming, which I know well) it’s essential to look at the big picture to chart a course for success in life.

I was reminded of this at an unlikely place—the Swine Day Conference 2024 in Ames at Iowa State University—thanks to keynote speaker Ross Bernstein.

“In the pork industry, you’re in the relationship business. There’s so much we can learn from sports,” said Bernstein, who has spent 25+ years studying the DNA of championship teams. He shares these insights through his array of books and his inspiring program “The Champion’s Code: Building Relationships Through Life Lessons from the Sports World to the Business World.”

Here are 7 key takeaways:

1. It all starts with passion. You can’t fake passion, Bernstein said. Consider Kirby Puckett, who led the Minnesota Twins to two World Series victories in 1987 and 1991. Puckett grew up on poor on the south side of Chicago in the Robert Taylor Homes public housing project. “He had to work twice as hard as everyone else and spent six years grinding it out in the minors before he became an ‘overnight success,’” said Bernstein, who has authored nearly 50 sports books. “He treated every day in the big leagues as a gift.” What are you truly passionate about? In life, success lies at the intersection of passion and purpose.

2. Be generous. When Bernstein was growing up in southern Minnesota, he was a huge hockey fan. His favorite player, Wayne Gretzky, racked up 894 regular-season goals and 1,963 assists during his storied career. “When you make a goal, you make one person happen. But an assist makes two people happy,” Bernstein said. “Wayne understood the power of the assist. What will your next great assist look like?”

3. Build trust. Pat Summitt mastered the art of building trust during her legendary career as head women’s basketball coach at the University of Tennessee. Summitt led the Lady Vols to 22 Final Fours and two national titles. “Pat grew up on a dairy farm and was old-school,” Bernstein said. When she was recruiting talent, she’d go incognito to watch potential recruits and see which athletes naturally exhibited a strong work ethic.

Summitt constantly challenged her players to reach their full potential as students and athletes. “The players on Pat’s teams loved her and worked extra hard for her,” Bernstein said.

Building trust also leads to success on the farm and in the workplace. When trust abounds and people feel valued, that’s the difference between a job and a career. “The first is transactional, while the second is transformational,” Bernstein said. “What could you do to become an even more trusted advisor?”

4. Stay humble. Former Iowa Hawkeye and current Indiana Fever standout Caitlin Clark recently broke the WNBA’s single-season assists mark. “Along with her talent, one of the reasons she’s the G.O.A.T. –greatest of all time–is because she’s humble,” Bernstein said. This traditional, Midwestern value reveals itself in good times and bad times, he added. How do you react when things go your way? What do you do when things don’t go your way? It’s important to win with dignity and lose with grace. “No one wants to be around a jerk,” said Bernstein, whose favorite hockey player understood what it meant to be humble. “When Wayne Gretzky was asked how he wanted to be remembered, he said he wanted to be known as the guy who worked the hardest in practice and helped his teammates the most.”

5. Focus on mental toughness. Have you ever worked with somebody who always seems to make excuses instead of making an effort? Success demands mental toughness. Bud Grant, former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, often told his players how the Trans-Alaskan Oil Pipeline was built in the 1970s. Thousands of workers came from Texas and other states for these good jobs. They soon found themselves working in brutally cold conditions. Many quit.

The native Alaskans were different, though. “Productivity doubled overnight when they worked on the pipeline,” Bernstein said. Studies were conducted to see what made them so much hardier. What it their genetics? Their gear?

A psychological study revealed the answer. The native Alaskans all said they knew it was going to be cold, but there was a job that had to be done. They chose to focus on the work instead of the weather. “Mental toughness is focusing on what you can control,” Bernstein said.

What are the things you can and can’t control right now? While you can’t control the weather or the markets, you can set goals and track your progress. “Disciplined risk management is one of the things that separates the top 25% of producers from the rest of the pack,” Bernstein said. This is mental toughness, and it’s reflected in business consultant Peter Drucker’s famous advice, Bernstein added. “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

6. Think hard about your legacy. How do you want to be remembered? It matters to your family. Two mentors in Bernstein’s life brought this into clear focus. The first was his grandfather, who ran a small business in a small town. “When I’m faced with a decision, I think, ‘What would Grandpa do?’” Bernstein said. “In a small town, we take care of people. It’s the right thing to do.” Herb Brooks also echoed these sentiments, added Bernstein, who had the chance to work with this legendary ice-hockey coach and Minnesota native before Brooks passed away in 2003. “Herb’s philosophy was work hard, enjoy life and remember the people who help make it possible,” Bernstein said. “He called them the ‘behind the scenes’ people, like the janitors. It wasn’t unusual for him to bring them a pizza and send them a note saying, ‘Thanks guys. I couldn’t do it without you.’”

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