Of Suits, Sweatshirts, and Skill

By Michael Desroches

While some of our Southern team members are obsessing over which shade of blue to wear Friday evening (Carolina Blue, for the record), I’m more focused on coaching excellence, which makes me look to ‘Nova’s Jay Wright.  

He’s arguably the best coach in college basketball right now. 

His accomplishments speak for themselves: This is his fourth final four in 21 seasons, and he’s gotten there with a team that was 7-4 in December, is pretty much six deep, and doesn’t have a single player projected to be selected in this year’s draft. He has two national championships under his belt – 2016 and 2018 – and a dedicated fan base. 

Outside of college basketball, most folks know Wright as the good-looking George Clooney-esque coach (GQ’s term, not mine) with impeccable style. His perfectly tailored suits were so famous before the NCAA switched to pullovers that they even have their own twitter account - @JayWrightsSuit and the hashtag #BringMeBack. 

But what makes his team unstoppable isn’t what he wears or what color it is – it’s how he mentally prepares players with a combination of what’s been called old fashioned values and more than a touch of New Age philosophy. From when he first started coaching this group of underdogs two decades ago to now, when his team from a small school of 6,000 is a recognized powerhouse, his philosophy of staying “humble and hungry” has driven his players to succeed on and off the court. So much so that he even wrote a book on it: Attitude: Develop a Winning Mindset on and Off the Court.

And that’s exactly the mindset you need to market your business. 

Because every day, someone new is learning about you – or they should be. 

And they don’t necessarily know what you’ve accomplished in the past, or why your product, service or organization can take them to the next level. 

It’s your job to show them. 

And if you convince them by humbly showing them what you can do, and aggressively demonstrating why your team excels at it, you’ll win. 

And if you do it well, you just might get bonus points for style. 

Onward ….

-       MD

(Need assistance formulating and executing a winning marketing game plan, put us in.)

About Michael Desroches

Michael Desroches is an executive marketing consultant, brand strategist, speaker, trainer, author and mentor. The Founder and Principal of Woodbridge, Connecticut-based Brand Inspiration has spent more than two decades helping corporations, nonprofit organizations, mid-sized companies and small businesses here in the northeast and across the country. He and his team help clients uncover their most unique traits and translate them into creative marketing that inspires donors to give, customers to buy, and people to trust. Learn more at www.michaeldesrochesonline.com.