Lesson Learned

by | Apr 7, 2022 | Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Performance, Success | 0 comments

I have been getting blistered for the clips used in this video: https://youtu.be/DqcYJJyEXF8

While many people liked/supported/shared this video, a high percentage did not, for very valid reasons, and thus I wanted to offer a heartfelt response.

There were 3 primary themes to the criticism, all of which I agree with:

  1. “These clips were taken out of context.” In hindsight, I agree that some of these clips are misleading. They show a player being disappointed after a loss, not showing bad body language after a play. I have NO problem with a player being upset after a tough loss (as long as they are sportsmanlike). It shows they care! I did the best I could with the footage that was available and I clearly missed the mark on a few of them.
  2. “You are disrespecting kids!” That was not my intent at all. I certainly did not mean to diminish any of these student-athletes. I have tremendous respect for college athletes and the commitment and sacrifice they make to represent their schools. My goal was simply to make a video showing the importance of good body language, not to be critical of kids playing their hearts out.
  3. “There is hardly any clips on the women’s side.” Agreed. I found that frustrating too. I did the best I could to find examples on the women’s side and there was hardly any quality footage. Even the clip I used of Paige wasn’t a great clip for reason’s stated in #1.

I understand, that when I put content out in the world, it is open for criticism. I fully accept that and I always welcome people sharing their feedback and perspective. If I am going to accept people’s praise, I need to accept their criticism without deflecting or being defensive. I take full ownership.

I fully stand by the intent of the video (to show the importance of displaying good body language)… as well as what I said in the narration… but I fully acknowledge, for the reasons listed above, I fell short on several of the clips I chose to use. And because of that, this video didn’t have the impact I had hoped for many people.

Lesson learned.

Alan