Why We Win, Why We Lose

Jerry Jones loved football from an early age. He played on the 1964 Arkansas National Championship team and was an All-Southwest lineman and team captain under legendary Coach Frank Broyles and teammate Jimmy Johnson. Football was in his blood, and he dreamed of one day owning a team.

After college, Jones set out to amass his fortune. He first opened a string of Shakey Pizza Parlors throughout Missouri before making millions in the oil and land-lease business. After failing to purchase the San Diego Chargers in 1967, Jones waited over 20 years to finally realize his dream. He became owner of the Dallas Cowboys on Feb. 25, 1989.

His first move was to name Johnson head coach and allow him to establish the culture of the team. It didn’t take Johnson long to turn around the Cowboys, and before his departure in 1993, Dallas had won two Super Bowls.

The Cowboys went on to win one more title a couple of years later, but since 2000, they’re only eight games above the .500 mark and have not appeared in a Super Bowl or even an NFC Championship game.

In this video, Jones gets emotional about how important winning is to him and emphasizes his willingness to do almost anything to be victorious.

But the hardest job of a leader in any profession is to actually determine why success or failure occurs. Victory can be intoxicating, so many leaders rationalize theirs ups and downs instead of digging deep into the truth.

Clearly, Jones never understood the importance of the culture Johnson created or the lack of accountability players felt toward their coach. And since dismissing him — with the exception of hiring Bill Parcells — he’s failed to recognize the need for establishing a culture around the head coach. If you cannot determine why you win or lose, how can you plan for success?

The answer cannot be glossed over with media-friendly responses. It takes hard questions, honest assessment and the ability to truly self-reflect. Without a complete understanding of the factors of losing, sustained success will never occur. And unless the truth is revealed, then expect .500 seasons and maybe one good year, followed by several disappointing.

We as leaders MUST routinely analyze every part of our organization asking two fundamental questions: Why did we win? Why did we lose?

Then, act accordingly.