Let Them Lead

Most people know Jack Harbaugh as the father of John, the Super Bowl champion coach of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, and Jim, who has led the Michigan Wolverines to two straight Big Ten titles. But Jack took the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers from the verge of extinction to a national title himself, one of the great coaching feats of his era.

In this episode Jack tells us what he learned

-from paying his dues while climbing up the ranks of high school coaching – including one of his schools that had exactly two practice footballs;

-from Hall of Fame coaches Doyt Perry at Bowling Green, and Bo Schembechler at Michigan;

-from being fired from his first head coaching job at Western Michigan;

-from his tenure taking over a near-defunct program at Western Kentucky, getting them into the playoffs as a 16th seed, then leading the Hilltoppers to a very unlikely national title.

Along the way, Jack Harbaugh tells insightful and hilarious stories, many at his own expense, that you won’t forget.

When they first met, Bacon was a 22-year old assistant hockey coach at Culver Academies, and Kevin Dean was the captain of one of the nation’s best teams, and an AP history student. Dean went onto play 7 years in the NHL, and has since served as an assistant coach for five seasons with Boston and Chicago.

Decades of pro hockey have taught Dean “high standards help you, not hurt you; the best players want you to coach them; and you have to be honest with your people, without being emotional.”

In this episode Dean explains how he learned all this with great stories about Culver’s Al Clark, and great NHL captains like New Jersey’s Scott Stevens, Boston’s Patrice Bergeron, and Chicago’s Jonathan Toews.

Be sure to join this fun, quick, and clever conversation.

About our Host:

For info about the book or this podcast please visit our website:

http://www.letthemleadbybacon.com

http://www.johnubacon.com

You can connect with John via these platforms:

https://www.facebook.com/johnubacon

https://twitter.com/Johnubacon

AJ Harbinger and Johnny Dzubak created the immensely popular Art of Charm podcast. When they met years ago they realized they could combine AJ’s work in a University of Michigan cancer research lab and Johnny’s observations tending bar out East to transform the mysteries of influence into hard science. Now they’ve developed a coaching program that helps clients handle every sticky social situation from getting a date to impressing your boss to working a room. A fascinating, fast-paced and fun episode.

The keys to “Unlocking the Power of Relationships and Communication” include the value of vulnerability in breaking the ice, the importance of peer pressure, and how to change the signals we send out to elicit the responses we want.

They now work with organizations from universities to corporations to the military, one of their biggest clients. When you listen to this episode, you’ll understand why.

Joe Battista led Penn State hockey to 6 ACHA national titles, then helped Penn State build an $88 million arena and join Big Ten hockey. A master of leadership and teamwork, his book Pragmatic Passion shows you how to “Dream big, keep it real, and make a plan.”

I met Joe Battista at Culver Academies (Indiana) in the fall of 1986, when we were both assistant hockey coaches for the legendary Al Clark. Over lunch one day I asked him what he wanted to do after Culver. He said, “Go back to Penn State, become the head hockey coach, win some national titles, go varsity, and build a new rink.”

This dream was crazy, since the Penn State hockey position hadn’t even opened up. Yet, on October 11, 2013 – 27 years after that conversation – I watched from the glass as Battista, who had won six ACHA national titles as Penn State’s head hockey coach, walked onto the ice at Penn State’s brand new Pegula Arena, and dropped the puck for the ceremonial first faceoff before Penn State’s varsity team played its first game in the Big Ten. It was hard not to get choked up, because I was watching a friend achieve every crazy dream he’d told me about 27 years earlier.

Battista has funneled the wisdom he’s gained about leadership, teamwork, and simply getting hard things done into a book, “Pragmatic Passion: 7 Common Sense Principles for Achieving Personal and Professional Success,” and a robust speaking career.

We talk about all of that and more in today’s podcast.

For info about the book or this podcast please visit our website:

http://www.letthemleadbybacon.com

http://www.johnubacon.com

You can connect with John via these platforms:

https://www.facebook.com/johnubacon

https://twitter.com/Johnubacon

On LET THEM LEAD, we talk about leading others. But what about leading ourselves? In 2020, John Bacon ran 700 miles, lost 35 pounds, and designed his own marathon. The key: Just put your shoes on.

On my 55th birthday in July, 2019, I tipped the scales at 205. Not healthy when you’re 5-foot-8, and not smart when you have a three-year old son. So I started running, and only eating when I was actually hungry. 35 pounds and 700 miles later, I was prepared to run the Boston Marathon, when Covid-19 postponed it.

What do you do? I decided to create my own marathon, designed to see everything I care about in my hometown – starting at my parents’ home, running past my schools, parks, rinks, and friends’ homes, and ending on the other side of town at our home, with my wife and 4-year old son Teddy waiting for me at the finish. What I didn’t expect was 100 people to come out and cheer me on every mile along the way, and 30-40 to run or bike alongside (at a safe distance!). In 2000 we were very hungry for even a little bit of good news, inspiration, and connection – and maybe we still are.

The story has appeared in the Washington Post, National Public Radio, the BBC’s “Stories of Hope” (it runs from 27:30-34:30, with a cameo by my 4-year old son, Teddy, Detroit News, Michigan Radio, the Clarin newspaper chain, Argentina’s main media outlet, and Folha, Brazil’s biggest newspaper chain.

Hope you enjoy it.

For info about the book or this podcast please visit our website:

http://www.letthemleadbybacon.com

http://www.johnubacon.com

You can connect with John via these platforms:

https://www.facebook.com/johnubacon

https://twitter.com/Johnubacon

A native of Cheboygan, MI, Mark Grisdale recalls his football coach, Irv Sigler, quietly and privately telling Grisdale he knew he was padding his work out sheet, and if he kept cutting corners the team would not be undefeated again the next year. The lessons stuck. Grisdale fell into education and soon discovered teaching, coaching, and leading were his passions. Ten years ago he started a new high school in Houston, and it’s now one of the state’s best.

For info about the book or this podcast please visit our website:

http://www.letthemleadbybacon.com

http://www.johnubacon.com

You can connect with John via these platforms:

https://www.facebook.com/johnubacon

https://twitter.com/Johnubacon

Leading a city is a largely thankless job, where strangers get to insult you in public. So if you’re not excited about actually governing, this isn’t for you. Christopher Taylor is a successful lawyer, but has served as Ann Arbor’s mayor since 2014 – for peanuts – and he loves it. “In a democracy, collaboration is the key. You simply have to get buy-in. So when we make a decision, a lot of smart people have given it a lot more thought than you’d think!” He even sings in this interview – and he’s good!

For info about the book or this podcast please visit our website:

http://www.letthemleadbybacon.com

http://www.johnubacon.com

You can connect with John via these platforms:

https://www.facebook.com/johnubacon

https://twitter.com/Johnubacon

When Franklin Roosevelt contracted polio at 38, his career seemed over. 12 years later he was elected president -- strengthened, not weakened, by his battle with polio to lead the nation through the Great Depression and World War II. Award-winning author James Tobin tells his story. 

https://www.jamestobinwrites.com/

For info about the book or this podcast please visit our website:

http://www.letthemleadbybacon.com

http://www.johnubacon.com

You can connect with John via these platforms:

https://www.facebook.com/johnubacon

https://twitter.com/Johnubacon

If you’ve seen Jerry Maguire, you know David Meltzer’s story – or part of it. The inspiration for the famous movie, Meltzer started with little, quickly rose to the top of the sports agent world – when his wife gave him a wake-up call. He later lost it all, bankrupt – then rebuilt his fortune on new principles. This is his story.

To connect with David:

https://dmeltzer.com/

For info about the book or this podcast please visit our website:

http://www.letthemleadbybacon.com

http://www.johnubacon.com

You can connect with John via these platforms:

https://www.facebook.com/johnubacon

https://twitter.com/Johnubacon

Fred Crawford played for the MSU basketball program in the mid ‘80s, but wisely decided to focus on school. He worked his way to the top of AlixPartners, a New York firm specializing in turnaround and restructuring, including arguably the best-known turnaround in corporate history: General Motors. “One thing you learn quickly: time is not your friend, and neither is perfection. You have to move fast, and if 80-percent of your plan is working, you’re doing great.

For info about the book or this podcast please visit our website:

http://www.letthemleadbybacon.com

http://www.johnubacon.com

You can connect with John via these platforms:

https://www.facebook.com/johnubacon

https://twitter.com/Johnubacon