Who: Urban Meyer and Wayne Coffey

What: A book about the leadership of the 2014 NCAA National Champion Ohio State Buckeye Football
team while Urban Meyer was coach, along with other experiences and life lessons he shared from his
life as a coach, mentor, husband, father, etc. that shaped him into the leader he is today.

Where: Born in Ashtabula, OH with a dream of always coaching at Ohio State.

When: His whole life as a child, adult, assistant coach, and head coach but most specifically in 2014 as
Ohio State’s Head Coach.

Why:

 He truly believed that Above the Line behavior will change the culture of the Ohio State Football
Above the Line Interntional , On purpose , Skillful
team and become champions… =
Below the Line Impulsive , Onautopilot , Resistant
 “And it is what the core of this book is about: leading and motivating people to perform at their
best and to exceed what they thought possible” p. 26
 He believed people wanted to be great (on and off the field) and it was his job along with his
coaching staff to be leaders to their players as turn their players into leaders.
 He wanted to share his life lessons and what he did/does to be the best leader that he can be by
leading his team to victory (on and off the field).

How:

 Along with Tim Knight, leadership coach and mentor/friend of Urban Meyer, the coaching staff
began taking leadership classes. They would be the “unit leaders.” For example, Tom Herman
was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He would be the “unit leader” of the
quarterbacks and also the offense. The concept was similar to military style. Fight for the guy to
the left and right of you, “The unit becomes a family. The guys in the unit become a band of
brothers. Soldiers fight for each other. This is the heart of combat motivation.” p. 124-125
 Nine Units Strong… “Offensive line, tight ends, quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, defensive
line, linebackers, cornerbacks, and safeties—those are the units we are talking about. We need
them all to operate at maximum capacity. That is Nine Units Strong.” p. 15
 E+ R=O … Event + Response=Outcome…He preached to his staff and players that you can’t
control an Event or an Outcome but you can always a Response.
 R Factor: Press pause, get your mind right, step up, adjust and adapt, make a difference, build
skill. Chapter 2.
  Used his leaders (staff and players) to create culture because culture drives behavior, and
behavior produces results.
 Did not allow BCD (blame, complain, defend. All involved Below the Line behavior.
 He takes time to self-reflect and is always learning better and new ways to become a better
leader because that will make a better team. He knew he had to lead Above the Line
 10-80-10 Principle…His way of saying your first 10 is the 10% and they are the natural, already
born leaders who work as hard as they can without someone telling them. They are self-
motivated. The last 10 is the 10 percenters who don’t work hard and have BCD. The 80 is the
80 percenters which makes up the majority of the group and they are the ones that work hard
at times, need motivated at times, need guidance to figure out a solution. Urban Meyer’s goal
was to have as many 80 percenters move up into the 10 percenters. He said by the end of the
2014 season, the 10 percenters were more around 30 percenters and he believes this is why
they were champions that year.

Reflection after reading this book…

I loved reading about this, partially because I am a huge sports fan and an even bigger Ohio
State fan and I remember that year and enjoyed celebrating the win. However, it’s even more enjoyable
after reading this book and taking on the journey that Urban Meyer and his team faced all year. The ups
and downs, the highs and lows. It was a rollercoaster. But, as a fan and not reading this book before, I
never knew some of the things that Urban Meyer did to change the culture of his team. I was glad to
read it and I think I can take a lot away from this book. I just finished my 2 nd year coaching at Hoover
and this is something that we battle with on daily basis. We are still in the process of changing the
culture and trying to build our players into leaders and for us to play great as a unit. But, after reading
it, it ensured me that it takes time, relentless effort, and always staying Above the Line when it comes to
how I handle myself, communicate with a coach or player, and how I respond to each and every event. I
am going to try to implement the no BCD into my daily life as well as relay the message to my players.
I’m going to try to preach the message of the R factor and how it can single handedly change an
outcome for the better. Also, I’m going to try to elevate the 80 percenters into that tier of 10 percent. I
love the incorporation of leadership skills that Urban made his staff go through. Then, essentially having
the players step in as leaders. Having leaders bring other guys along and turning them into leaders. It’s
all contagious and it’s every coach’s dream. I am going to continue to work on doing that. I also want to
take more time to self-reflect on why a practice didn’t go well or why we lost that close game. I feel like
I do that but I just want to concentrate more on it and make sure I’m thinking deeper or more creatively.
Here is one more paragraph that I thoroughly enjoyed and hit close to home for me because it helps me
realize why I am doing what I love…

“Here’s the great secret about leadership: it’s not about you. It’s about making other people
better. Leadership is more about trust you have earned than the authority you have been granted. You
must earn the right for people to follow you. It is about equipping people with the tools necessary to
get and stay Above the Line. It is about maximizing their talent and their lives. It’s one of the greatest
gifts you could ever have because you are doing something that has far more importance than the
outcome of a football game. You are stretching people, helping them change and grow. You are taking
people to places they never thought they would reach. You are helping them live better lives. Think
about that. It’s deeply humbling to be able to have that kind of impact.” p. 238

Justen Little