I confess to being a huge Jocko Willinck honk. His podcasts are forever long but his books I've very much enjoyed. On his most recent podcast referenced the 1941 version of the 100-5 army field manual that prepared for (then) modern warfare right before World War II. While I hate all equating of football and war, the team-building parallels have always seemed legitimate to me. So I noticed this in chapter 3 of the field manual (you can read the whole thing here):
99. War places a severe test on the physical endurance and moral stamina of the individual soldier. To perform his duties efficiently, he must not only be well equipped and technically trained but he must also be physically qualified to endure the hardships of field service and be constantly fortified by discipline based on high ideals of military conduct. Strong men, inculcated with a proper sense of duty, a conscious pride in their unit, and a feeling of mutual obligation to their comrades in the group, can dominate the demoralizing influences of battle far better than those imbued only with fear of punishment or disgrace.
This, to me, is one of the things Petrino was never able to develop in terms of program culture. And I think it's one of Satterfield's strengths that he gets the human part of building a team. When he says "you can't just scream at guys all the time", he's echoing the text above.
Then I came to this:
103. Troops are strongly influenced by the example and conduct of their leaders. A leader must have superior knowledge, will power, self-confidence, initiative, and disregard of self. Any show of fear or unwillingness to share danger is fatal to leadership. On the other hand, a bold and determined leader will carry his troops with him no matter how difficult the enterprise. Mutual confidence between the leader and his men is the surest basis of discipline. To gain this confidence, the leader must find the way to the hearts of his men. This he will do by acquiring an understanding of their thoughts and feelings, and by showing a constant concern for their comfort and welfare.
104. A good commander avoids subjecting his troops to useless hardships; he guards against dissipating their combat strength in inconsequential actions or harassing them through faulty staff management. He keeps in close touch with all subordinate units by means of personal visits and observation. It is essential that he know from personal contact the mental, moral, and physical state of his troops, the conditions with which they are confronted, their accomplishments, their desires, and their needs.
So a good commander has a good staff and leads by connection to the hearts of his men through constant contact. I.e., they know where his office is and they aren't being led by his immediate family.
99. War places a severe test on the physical endurance and moral stamina of the individual soldier. To perform his duties efficiently, he must not only be well equipped and technically trained but he must also be physically qualified to endure the hardships of field service and be constantly fortified by discipline based on high ideals of military conduct. Strong men, inculcated with a proper sense of duty, a conscious pride in their unit, and a feeling of mutual obligation to their comrades in the group, can dominate the demoralizing influences of battle far better than those imbued only with fear of punishment or disgrace.
This, to me, is one of the things Petrino was never able to develop in terms of program culture. And I think it's one of Satterfield's strengths that he gets the human part of building a team. When he says "you can't just scream at guys all the time", he's echoing the text above.
Then I came to this:
103. Troops are strongly influenced by the example and conduct of their leaders. A leader must have superior knowledge, will power, self-confidence, initiative, and disregard of self. Any show of fear or unwillingness to share danger is fatal to leadership. On the other hand, a bold and determined leader will carry his troops with him no matter how difficult the enterprise. Mutual confidence between the leader and his men is the surest basis of discipline. To gain this confidence, the leader must find the way to the hearts of his men. This he will do by acquiring an understanding of their thoughts and feelings, and by showing a constant concern for their comfort and welfare.
104. A good commander avoids subjecting his troops to useless hardships; he guards against dissipating their combat strength in inconsequential actions or harassing them through faulty staff management. He keeps in close touch with all subordinate units by means of personal visits and observation. It is essential that he know from personal contact the mental, moral, and physical state of his troops, the conditions with which they are confronted, their accomplishments, their desires, and their needs.
So a good commander has a good staff and leads by connection to the hearts of his men through constant contact. I.e., they know where his office is and they aren't being led by his immediate family.
