Folks,

As promised, here is the link to a workshop I’m looking forward to hosting with Mike Coulter, Creative Director of the Do Lectures. It comes in the week in which the Scottish FA published their manifesto that argues that football can be a delivery partner for public health, child poverty, and community outcomes. And I realised that in over 1,157 blog posts, I’ve written about manifestos 17 times. 

You can think of a manifesto not as a to-do list but a to-be list; not a set of asks or demands of the world (or in the case of the Scottish FA, of politicians) but declarations; “here’s what we believe in, even if it costs us.” There is skin in the game. 

If you are wondering what your principles are, this quote from Bill Bernbach might help:

"A principle isn't a principle until it costs you money." 

One principle called the Lindy Effect stands the test of time. The longer something has existed, the more likely it is to stick around. Coaching is a relatively new profession, and like all “new” professions, it’s fragile. 

Coaching as a function, well, that’s different. The skill of seeing what others can’t see, offering challenge and support, has been around as long as we have.

In this age of AI, it still pays to be human. 

Simon

P.S. I felt a bit famous last week. So famous, in fact, I’ve created a “Featured In” page on my website. On this page, you can find the two podcast appearances from last week. Stuart Armstrong is the generous host of the Talent Equation, and we talk about status, stability, and coaching. While on the Socially Distant Pod, Stef makes Good Coach Bad Coach his book of the week.