It would have been a tragic upset. The year was 2005 and in the final play of the now notorious “Bush Push” game, the No. 1 ranked USC Trojans were losing to perennial rival, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Quarterback Matt Lineart received his play instructions from the sideline and infamously went into the huddle and disobeyed those instructions.
In the next few seconds, his renegade decision would play out with massive consequences on live television.
Thinking quickly, Lienart decided in the moment to run his own play at the goal line. He’d hike the ball and hand it off to Heisman Trophy winner, Reggie Bush, to attempt to run through the defense for a game winning touchdown as time expired.
Millions of viewers watched live as Bush seemingly was being stopped by the defense, but ultimately made it through when Leinhart pushed him from behind across the goal line.
Centralized, top down decision-making lacks agility, accountability.
Sure, the coaching staff at USC was one of the best in football, but the decentralized nature of their team allowed for on the field adjustments like this one from players with a feel for the action. In this case, a decentralized decision-making structure was the difference between winning and losing.
Don’t get me wrong, building decentralized teams is harder than the alternative. The results are worth it, though, in my opinion. Here are some key features of decentralized team structures:
- Increased agility by avoiding communicating up and down the chain of command
- Increased accountability (USC players could blame their losses on the play caller)
- Increased responsibility (If you’re going to have the freedom to make decisions of consequence, you’ll need to earn)
- Decision-making that is closer to the action (top down decision making gets done by folks who are not closest to the problems that need solving)
If you’re on a team, consider what would be needed to become more decentralized. What would be possible if you were?
10/9/24 WOD
DEUCE Athletics GPP
Complete 4 rounds of the following:
10 Seal Row
Complete 3 rounds for quality of:
10 DB Pullovers
4 Candlestick Negatives
EMOM 12
Min 1: 15 Banded KB Swings (AHAP)
Min 2: 10 DB Push Presses (AHAP)
Min 3: Max Lateral Plyo Boxes
Min 4: Rest
DEUCE Garage GPP
Accumulate 5 minutes in Inversion
Complete 4 rounds for quality of:
Negative Handstand Push Up to Forward Roll
Max L-Sit Pull Ups
Then, complete 5 rounds for time of:
250m Row or Bike
-2:30 Active Recovery-