Saturday night the St. Louis Blues won their 4th away game in a row. This is big news for the Blues. It means their decision to make big changes more than 50% of the way through the season is so far a good one.
Here’s the backstory for those of you who don’t live and breathe NHL news: On February 1, the Blues fired their head coach and goalie coach. This was definitely an off script move. Last summer, the team made strategic decisions to help them move from good to great. They invested in a star goalie, brought on a new assistant coach (Mike Yeo), and planned to spend the year preparing for head coach Hitchcock’s end-of-season retirement.
The Blues were doing it right. They had their 20-mile march planned out. The NHL season runs 82 games from October through April, giving them the time to experiment and learn where to invest their resources and manage risk.[1]
But it wasn’t working, and some honest self-reflection pointed to a need for change. Blues General Manager, Doug Armstrong: “It just felt like we were hit and miss, night in and night out. We need to demand more of ourselves.”
Yes, this just seems like another sports story—a multi-million dollar NHL franchise positions itself for yet another win, and it is. But, how often do we all feel like we’re “hit and miss” and, still, we just wait for the end of the season, the next school year, this leadership to cycle out?
The Blues stand to lose millions by skating the same old patterns, but in our schools and classrooms, we stand to lose far more. So, today, commit to an act of love, with the courage to listen and let go. Follow the Blues example and go off script. Give up the good and go for the great.