Legacy

The book Legacy by James Kerr was the second self improvement book that I read. I found it really easy to read and quite giving. It is not a book that is going to revolutionize your life, but it serves as a good reminder of many important things. I think I might be somewhat biased towards the book, as I am a competitive person and often find myself in team sports and team environments. So I was already sold when it said it was going to deep dive into the reasons why the rugby team All Blacks has managed to keep an 80 percent win rate over more than 100 years.

#Important Reminder

The book covers a lot, and depending on the context in which the ideas are applied, some aspects might become more or less important. What follows is basically what stuck with me and what I think can be applied in many different situations, mainly to oneself.

Sweep the sheds reminds us that we have to do the basics, and that we are not above certain tasks. The team members cleaned their own locker room and did not leave it to staff or juniors. This is a task that shows humility, and it is important to do the basics even when no one is watching. It shows discipline and ownership. If that is not something you can provide, how can someone rely on you to perform when it matters, if the basics cannot even be handled.

#Other aspects that stuck

Another topic that stuck with me was leave the jersey in a better place than you found it. I find it quite easy and straightforward to get behind this concept. Without it, you miss ownership and responsibility, as well as the hunger to search for improvement. It also goes beyond yourself. What I mean is that this is not individual anymore, you are now taking the team or environment into account. You have to do things that do not necessarily benefit you directly, but instead are done for the "greater good".

I also like to remind myself of the idea of the 100 cuts. You will most likely not fail because of one gigantic mistake, but instead because of multiple small ones that add up. So if you can do 100 things slightly better than the other team, you will succeed. This ties back nicely to the basics. Solve the basics and make sure they do not fail, and you will perform better. This can also be viewed as you do not have to revolutionize something big to succeed, but instead find small things to improve upon. This concept can easily be applied to both individuals and teams.

One lesson from the book that you might not find in many other places is that change should be constant, even when you are on top and winning. Better phrased as: if you do not change while winning, change will be forced on you while losing. Winning creates comfort, and comfort leads to relaxation, missed basics, and stagnation. Other teams will learn from their mistakes, try to catch up, and change their approach. It is simply lazy to wait for them to do so before you change yourself.

Of course, everything in the book is connected, and what it all ultimately falls under is culture. The culture you build is what people will buy into, and they have to buy into it for it to work. If everyone is working together towards what might be a slightly suboptimal goal, it is still better than everyone working on their own optimal goal. Finally, James Kerr also mentions that you do not need, or even want, the most technically skilled people if they do not fit the culture you have built. Instead, you pick people who fit the culture and help improve it, keeping it alive.