Who did you pick to be the big winner of March Madness?
Ohio State? Nope.
Kansas? Sorry.
Duke? Not even close.
Want a hint?
The big winner of March Madness is the same every year.
Yup.
Every single year there is one outrageous winner.
The NCAA.
Hundreds of teams.
Thousands of players.
Millions of fans.
The NCAA doesn’t care who wins.
So here’s the question for you:
Are you competing, or running the competition?
It’s unlikely that any particular team will win the tournament.
That’s what makes it fun to watch.
It’s a 100% guarantee that someone will win.
The tournament organizer wins every time (as long as teams compete).
Here are 3 Leadership Ideas from picking the Big Winner at March Madness:
1. Create competition
My regional director says: Don’t compete for the existing awards.
Instead do something so outrageously well that you get an award named after you.
A guy in my franchise system set the standard for starting fast out of the gate.
Now, every year, he hands out the award to anyone who started faster than he did. Wow!
Are you crowning the winner or being crowned?
2. Patience
The Super Bowl was a joke until Joe Namath beat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.
The championship has to mean something.
People have to want to compete.
The NCAA wasn’t always the premier tournament.
They created that over time.
And they protect their brand.
How does your brand create a playing field for other brands?
3. Community
It’s fun!
You fill out a bracket, right?
Then you watch.
And cheer.
And compete.
How do you inspire passion in your community of fans?