There are reports that Bill Belichick, the legendary coach of the New England Patriots, will either be fired or resign by the end of this season. Belichick has coached the Patriots for the past 24 years, and has won more SuperBowls than any other coach in the history of the National Football League. He is widely considered as one of the greatest coaches to ever coach the game. But for the past two seasons, his performance has been dismal. And let’s be honest: professional sports is show business—emphasis on the business. If you don’t win, you don’t last. It doesn’t matter how many victories you’ve won in the past. Owners, fans and pundits are like Janet Jackson: they want to know what you have done for them lately.

So alas, a dynasty may soon come to an end. And contrary to what some of you may think, I am not depressed, Belichick fan though I may be. I lost zero sleep last night. As I must constantly remind folks, I am not so much a fan of specific individuals or teams, as much as I am a student of sustained success. Any person or organization can win once. But any person or organization that consistently wins over time is worthy of study and emulation. Hence my appreciation for Belichick, and the New England Patriots. 6 SuperBowls??? Ummm…. they did something.

And probably the best thing they did was pick Tom Brady, the quarterback who led them to all of those victories on the field. Brady was Belichick’s choice—which is part of the reason why Belichick is a great coach. He saw the champion in Brady before anyone else did. But every coach, no matter how great, stands on the sidelines. Brady was the one on the field. Together, they were incredible. Apart, not so much. If the best thing the Patriots did was to pick Tom Brady, the worst thing they did was to let him go. Again—it was Belichick’s choice. And that choice may be the reason he may soon lose his job.

Hence, one of the great takeaways from the rumored end of one of the greatest coaches in sports is that you cannot be successful by yourself. To fully exploit your talent and maximize your impact, you need the influence, example, assistance of other people. Although we tend to celebrate genius, we need to be more appreciative of and sensitive to the significance of scenius. Coined by the English art historian Brian Eno, the term “scenius” refers to places where creators, curators, collectors, thinkers, and theorists gather and produce great ideas, inventions, movements, and organizations. Scenius, he says, is the “communal form of genius.” Eno argues that it isn’t who you are; it’s who you are around that drives innovation, progress and impact.

Being in the right environment surrounded by the right people is more conducive to success than you might imagine. This is why the Bible says in Proverbs 27:17 that “iron sharpens iron.” You can only be sharpened by people who are as sharp as you. Wood can’t sharpen iron. Brady without Belichick only wins one SuperBowl. And Belichick without Brady wins none. They sharpened each other. They are both geniuses in their respective areas. Their combined genius created a scenius. And out of that scenius, a dynasty was birthed that we will be talking about for years to come.

A lack of meaningful connection and interaction not only compromises your performance, it is also hazardous to your health. This past May, the Surgeon General released a report that outlined the devastating impact of loneliness and isolation. The report dubbed loneliness as a public health crisis, and concluded that “social connection— the structure, function, and quality of our relationships with others—is a critical and underappreciated contributor to individual and population health, community safety, resilience, and prosperity. The report found that loneliness and social isolation increase the risk for premature death , heart disease, stroke, anxiety, depression, and dementia.

Illustrations and applications of this truth abound. The point is that no matter how smart, driven, creative, resilient, or anointed you may be, you can’t achieve anything worthwhile alone. As one great preacher used to say, “anyone wrapped up in themselves is a small package.” Superman had Lois Lane. Batman had Robin. Gladys Knight had the Pips. Even Jesus had twelve disciples!

And he (Jesus) goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: and Simon he surnamed Peter; and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphæus, and Thaddæus, and Simon the Canaanite, 19and Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house. (Mark 3:10-17)

If God the Son couldn’t do it by himself, neither can you.

P.S.

This is the last blog of 2023. The blog will resume on January 12, 2024