Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group, LLC Blog

Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts.

When meetings boil down to people’s opinions, I usually have to leave. I know that we are each entitled to our own opinion.  I get that.

But don’t confuse your opinion with facts.

“Well, I feel this would be the best solution…”

Did you look at the distributor? Is there a cheaper way to get the same product? What about the warranty? How does it fit into our business model or fit our core principles? Is there evidence based literature that supports its use and price tag? Will it serve a large group or can it only be used by one individual at a time?

Facts take time to investigate.  They take energy and a “superdisciplined” approach. Opinions are like talk at the barbershop.

I’ll take an order of more facts please.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

Sometimes it feels like we have so much to do, so many little fires to put out, so many tasks to accomplish in so little time that we forget we are running around with scissors.  Although this may not be literally speaking, the fact is that running with scissors, at least as my mom always told me, was dangerous.

Instead of running around with scissors in your hand, pass them off to someone that should actually be doing the trimming.   You see, when you’re doing the job that other people were suppose to do, you’re wasting your time as well as theirs.  When you do other people’s jobs you are actually making your organization worse.
Your job as a leader is to ask tough questions and challenge the scope of your job and the jobs of those around you.

Don’t confuse activities with accomplishments.

Now put down the scissors.

 
Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

I had a manager from another company give me a call recently for a reference on a employee that worked for me several years ago.  He explained a little about the position and then I in turn told him a little about the employee's responsibilities here and how this particular person fit in with the group.  When I was done, he asked me how this employee stood out from the rest.  Great question.  My answer was immediate and without hesitation; they were one of my top students because they took ownership of their position. 

What is ownership exactly?  It's the difference between someone who does the minimum of what is expected of them and someone that takes a legitimate interest in improving their workplace.  Let's take the Ownership Quiz . . .

* During staff meetings, are you the person who volunteers for new tasks/projects or are you the person who lowers their eyes hoping someone else raises their hand?
* Do you take pride in the work you do on a day to day basis or do you simply do what is asked of you and be glad it's done?
* Do you take the initiative, bringing ideas for positive change to your office or are you the person that simply complains about how things could be better?
* If there is an issue outside of business hours, do your coworkers know it's alright to contact you or are they under the impression that would be a cardinal sin?
* Do you subscribe more to the idea of getting your job done rather than the phrase "business hours" or are you punching a clock at 9a and 5p every single day?

What if your well-being was tied directly into the performance of your whole office?  Well, I've got news for you.  It is.  Ownership is about treating your position as if you owned your own business.  It is about being a catalyst for positive growth in your environment regardless of whether you are the VP or an entry-level employee.  When you own your position, you are telling your supervisors, your co-workers, and the employees under you that you care.  You are providing a positive example for all and working towards bettering your environment regardless of the situation.  The highest compliment that I can give to any of my employees is that they took ownership of their position.  These are the ones that stood and continue to stand out from the crowd, even years later. 

Are you taking ownership of your workplace or just getting in the way of those that do?

Shaun Bossio is the Assistant Business Manager and ProShop Manager at Boston University FitRec.
He can be reached at sbossio@bu.edu

The initial part of investing is tough. 

Whether its withdrawing a thousand dollars from your checking account to be placed in a high interest bond you can’t touch for 4 years, or the time you spend filling out your salary withholdings for your 401K retirement plan.  Putting “money in the bank” is tough.

It’s a whole lot easier to buy that extra pair of shoes you don’t need, or dine out at the restaurant down the street (again) instead of making dinner at home.

The same can be said at work.

Whether it’s investing time in a project to unify the language and exercise descriptions between the sports med and the strength staff, working with student-athlete welfare to design, manage and implement a comprehensive sports nutrition strategy or designing and tracking an injury assessment and prevention protocol for all athletes.  Putting “money in the bank” is tough.

It’s a whole lot easier to just let the weight room do their thing then complain about it , tell your athletes not to eat fast food (then sneak a McDeal Meal to your desk without them seeing), and just take vitals as your normal incoming screening process (I mean, that’s all the NCAA asks you to do)

What makes investing so difficult is that the investor, rarely ever sees a tangible return on investment within any “reasonable” amount of time.  That’s what makes investing in mutual funds so successful though. If you invest in them, they almost always pay off long term.  The same can be said for your investments at work; your return on investment is rarely within site, even though you know it will pay off eventually. 

Will you ever see the lack of arteriosclerosis that your nutrition plan and cooking classes had on your athletes? What about the injury you may or may not have prevented from your screening and intervention strategies?

The answer is you probably won’t. Your athletes and patients are only yours for four years. And like any good mutual fund, these investments take time to mature.  But just because you can't see the end result next week doesn't mean you stop investing.

The only return you’ll see now is a smile and a thank you.  But just like mutual funds, the investments you make at work today will always pay off in the future just as long as you keep putting money in the bank.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

Every fall, we host a team-building/appreciation event for our student staff at the beginning of the school year.  It is a mixture of games, team activities, and learning in a fun environment.  I find that it's an important event for a few reasons.  First off, it is a chance for a large chunk of the 400+ students that work for our facility to get to know each other when otherwise they might not have an opportunity to.  Secondly, it is an opportunity for us to teach them a number of things about the facility and what we do in general and impart some basic departmental philosophies in them.  Finally, it is a way to give back to them for the excellent job that most of them do and for us to say that we encourage them to enjoy what they do, who they work with, and where they work.  It takes some work to pull off during a busy time of year, but it is something that the students have really enjoyed participating in and we feel that it is not an opportunity to be missed.

Recreation centers, athletic and other university departments all over the country are staffed by large numbers of the very students that their university has been built to service.  While their contributions can range from simple office tasks to critical on-the-job training and internships, they are a crucial cog in making any department run smoothly.  Let me ask you this question though; how often do you take time out to recognize them for their contributions?  I know some departments where students are just employees paid to do a task, no different than a Walmart.  They fill out their timesheets, they receive their check and they are told when they do things well/poorly.  Shouldn't that be enough?  Well, if you expect the bare minimum of effort from your student staff, then yes, the bare minimum of attention is what you should provide.  If however, you are trying to cultivate an environment where your students are enjoying where they work and giving out a maximum effort as a result, then I would encourage you to try a little harder to recognize them.  It doesn't take a lot of effort on our part, but the results can be phenomenal. 

When is the last time that you thanked your students?  What are you doing tomorrow?

Shaun Bossio is the Assistant Business Manager and ProShop Manager at Boston University FitRec.
He can be reached at sbossio@bu.edu
 

Whose toes were you going to step on?

If you translate “I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes” from its ancient Latin roots you will find that it means, “I really didn’t want to perform job/task “x”, so this is my way out.”  When we use this “excuse” we are missing an opportunity to do the right thing. Yes, it takes a little extra effort and yes it may require you to work through your coffee break, and yes it will require you to become exceptionally unordinary at work.

But who wants to do ordinary work?

For arguments sake, let’s say you are sincere, (I’ll say it again for emphasis) and I mean really concerned that you’ll be stepping on someone’s toes.  Do it anyways.  Because when it comes to doing the right thing, it’s better to act now and apologize later. 

You’ll often find that there is never any apologizing and instead simply a thank you from the mouth of the toes you stepped on.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

Do you like ice cream?

Do enjoy beer?

How many of you enjoy drinking beer and eating ice cream together?

Just because two things are both good, doesn’t mean that they are compatible or complimentary to one another and should go together.

The challenge with rehabbing an actively participating athlete is that the rehab in the sports medicine room may be good, and the strength exercises in the weight room may be good, and even some of the individual skill work on the court or field may be good as well.  However, whether it be total volume, or time frame within the week, all the the "good" parts, might just not be all that good together. 

The totality of all good things (or stressors) should be juxtaposed so that not one takes away from the one before, or the one after, but instead fit together to improve the athlete’s end performance profile.  The main obstacle which prevents all those professionals who are caring for that athlete from being on the same page is that each one usually presents an argument for why the athlete should do x,y and z from a posture which protects their own interest and not necessarily the interest of the athlete. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for arguing, as long as the arguing and debating is on behalf of the athlete and their best interest. 

So when you’re done arguing why your athlete just has to do 30 weighted jump squats, or that extra set of straight leg raises check with the guys and gals down the hall and make sure that the time spent doing those exercises are actually in the best interest of the athlete and not what’s best for you.  Because if you’re not willing to put all the pieces together for your athlete then you might just be serving beer sundaes this coming season.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

If you show up 10 minutes late for work, but stay an extra 20 minutes at the end of the day, that’s a net of +10 minutes extra that you put into your day. You should be applauded for working overtime, right?
 
Maybe, but that probably won’t happen. Because at 8:30 a.m., when all the workers are at their desks ready to start the day, yours is noticeably empty. And trust me, people notice.
 
The simple act of getting to the office and being ready to work when the day starts shows your office that you are a team player. At the very least, being on time will help you avoid the devastating perceptions that come with habitual tardiness. In the age of Blackberries and iPhones, we can all send emails from bed at 11 p.m. But true commitment starts with being ready to work when it’s time to work.
 
Think about it: If you were the manager of a gym that opened at 6 a.m., do you think your customers will give you a pass when you open at 6:05? Do you think the prospective clients in California will enjoy listening to the background music while you are five minutes late for your conference call?
 
It’s no different in whatever job you have. Be on time. It’s an easy way to start your day right.

Mark Harris is the Assistant Director of Athletic Development at Northeastern University.

You ever walk into a old school barbershop? 

You know the place, one or two barbers cutting the same high and tight crew cut they’ve been performing for the past 30 years, and just behind them a row of guys sitting and yuking it up.

Everyone talking about what they’re going to do, what they did do, and how good they were when they were your age.  Everyone has a suggestion on how things should be run and how to do it better.

Just ask them.

They’ll tell you what they’d do if they were president, the pope and even God. But then ask them to tell you what exactly they would do differently from what is currently being done; exactly, and in no uncertain terms and they often go silent.

Staff meetings are a lot like Barbershops. One guy who has been there forever, doing the same things the exact same way that they have always done it, trying to convince you that you need that high and tight fade, even though you just asked for a little bit off the top.  And around the meeting table, just like the barbershop, a whole lot of people making suggestions on how to make improvements but no one offering to own their suggestion and see it through.

“Who wants to research, develop and implement plan B that was suggested?”

Silence.

If you can’t tell me exactly what you would like to see done differently compared to what is currently being done then you’re simply complaining.  Or as I like to say, you’re just talking Barbershop.

And no, I don't need that fade.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

If it is clear that a goal will not be met, do not adjust your goal, adjust your action steps.

Literally.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.