Success Isn't A Straight Line

I've watched nearly every video on Brett Ledbetter's whatdriveswinning.com and nearly every one is gold. Here's a good one featuring PJ Fleck from the 2016 conference: 

I can appreciate his approach to building a program from ground zero and I think it's a really good perspective to keep in mind. Here are a few quotes:

Success isn't a straight line.

[Despite being 1-11 in year one,] behind the scenes we were winning; the process of winning was taking form.

You have one year to set your culture and you cannot compromise that culture in year one at all or you'll lose them as you go forward.

Related to the first quote, the prelude to Clive Woodward's Winning! is titled "Winning! Doesn't Happen in a Straight Line." The book documents England's improbable journey to winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Here's a section:

Our success has not been a continual series of victories. We have had a number of devastating setbacks; how these are handled is the mark of a great team. When you read about them, you might agree to a certain extent that it is a minor miracle England rugby has managed to produce a winning side at all. It has been against all odds, but winning does not happen in a straight line. Through trials and tribulations, great victories and stunning defeats, the elite England team of coaches, management and players has stuck together to pursue our vision of arriving at the World Cup as the number one ranked team, the odds-on favourite to win the tournament, and the best prepared England rugby team ever to step onto the pitch.