Since I normally would get it wrong, I stopped really judging and just let the work define the person. It is easier to focus my attention on the team and the folks that are the real talent will raise to the top. Set up an environment where those folks can flourish. How is that?

• Teamwork: As the manager you need to set up a truly team atmosphere.  Have it be a collective group, that works on the complete picture. I like to involve everyone in the setting of goals, timelines and have them work together to achieve those amazing results. There are many traps to watch out for… So, it takes a lot of effort on the managers part to make sure everyone is aligned and moving in the same direction.
• Diversity: It is something that is talked about a lot. Some folks think of this as only the different cultures, but it can include age. Make sure that when you are hiring that you keep in mind, your team. If you already have a very mature team, maybe hiring someone younger or fresh out of school – can help add to the team. You have to be willing to take chances to make the team better.
• 8-5, no way: Don’t know any other way to put this category, it is not about being in the office from 8-5, Monday thru Friday. It is about getting the work “DONE.” It is simply about the productivity of each individual and the team as a whole. I used to have status review meetings that were about 20 minutes long. It was a simple way for the team to keep an eye on the work. Work that they knew would be coming their way and when.. Work that they could help out another, if needed. As a manager, it is great to witness the team helping each other. Mandatory hours don’t really work…
• Set stretch goals: When the team has worked out their plan and timelines – add a stretch goal. Everyone loves challenges. When you set up the stretch goal remember to not do it every single time. Do it on those particular important ones, that could be a breakthrough or a key deliverable to help the larger organization win big. I have found that all teams, love to win big. Some pretty amazing outcomes have happened from a stretch goal that was extremely visible to the organization.

Once the environment is set, you can watch your people grow. For those that still like to judge talent and make assumptions on who is that star.. Did the star rise? Did someone else really step up? How  about the team? I have found some pretty incredible people that would have gone unnoticed if I stuck to my first impressions. I would rather have all or almost all of the team be stars… It is the team environment that you set up that is better than just your judgment.

Now that we are down to 8 teams – time for me to keep going with my picks..

• Vancouver and Nashville (Vancouver).. I know round one was shaky for my overall winner pick.. I am sticking to this pick (for now).
• San Jose and Detroit (San Jose).. Simply put, the Red Wings beat up my Coyotes pretty bad. I know the Red Wings played well, but the Sharks will do me proud. Have too many friends that are in the San Jose Area.
• Washington and Tampa Bay (Washington).. The style change for Washington has proved a very good move. My pick to make it to the finals moves on.
• Boston and Philadelphia (Boston).. I really had the Flyers leaving in the first round, but they played an awesome game 7 to stay in. Do I think they can continue? Not really, shaky goaltending. This pick is more for me, to give a nod to my Boston friends.

So, like my picks? Think I am full of it? What are yours?

The playoff’s this year has some really interesting story lines. For me, I had Vancouver winning it last year – but I have a really good feeling this year (as they are the top seeded team). Will the Eastern Conference top seed, Washington Capitals make it to the finals? How about my own Phoenix Coyotes playing the Detriot Red Wings again this year – Can the Coyotes win a playoff series? I am counting on it this year.

Who are you top predictions for making it to this years Stanley Cup Finals?

Mine are – Vancouver Canucks -vs- Washington Capitals. With the Vancouver Canucks winning it all… I know they are the top seeds. There is more behind my picks this year. Washington Capitals are actually playing defense this year. Something that had caused them early outs in playoffs past. I am still worried about goalie play for the Captials but I am going with it. Vancouver has one of the best goalies in the league. Defense wins championships..

1. The economy will rebound not once but 3 times. We all have heard that the corner has turned, but I predict that we will be turning that corner more than a few times. When will we really see a true turn around?
2. Role models will not be celebrities or sports figures in the future. Mass media will stop painting them as role models – we don’t need the disappoint. Go back to really showing the true role models. This means – local area news will have to feature ordinary folks doing extra-ordinary stuff for no reason at all. Just because is good enough.
3. Human interaction has gone more on-line everyday. I predict that dinner time conversations will make a comeback. Verbally discussing the day activities rather than texting, emailing, wall to wall or twittering updates. I am an empty nester now, so – for me that maybe a bit tougher to do, but every chance I get – I want the discussion verbally..
4. Electronic gadgets will continue to spring up all over the place. My hope is that Intel chips are everywhere.. Which could have an impact on the stock! The only downside – too many gadgets, so little time.
5.  Arguments around social computing (Enterprise 2.0) technologies internally will move from what and why to implementation of more agile capabilities that do not tie to one size fits all philosophy I see with most companies. I do want my cake and eat it too… Why can’t I have both?
6. After years of complaints, software vendors will insure that upgrading or their new releases – will not require hours of work to insure that what I already have will work in the new. Seems that every upgrade has me spending hours to relearn, migrate my content or reset up permissions. Enough already – using your stuff was supposed to save me time.
7. Decisions that I have been putting off – will move to the forefront of my to do list. We all have stuff that we should do, know we should do; but put off due to too many other reasons. I am saying no more excuses… Time to do something for me.
8. There are way too many overly serious folks in the world. Fun, should not be something that you have to schedule, force or demand. Fun should just happen. Smile more, laugh more. Surprising how better you feel.
9. Educating the future will become a reality. Budgets will match the expectations of what we want to happen. Time to prioritize the future – and stop living in the past…
10. I will get to know my neighbors. It is amazing how when I was growing up in the 70′s – every house had a front porch and neighbors used to talk with each other. Today, how many front porches do you see? How many of your neighbors do you really know? For me, I know I have to do better…

I was sitting this morning and my mind wandered to my days of coaching hockey! Summer is over and high school starting up again is just around the corner. What does that bring? For us hockey fans – it means another high school season is firing back up.  This is the part of the season that every team is busy! They are recruiting players, ordering uniforms, the coaching staff is getting together for laying out the season and the players just unhappy the summer is over. High school hockey is a bit different than house or travel programs – it is all about your school!

Tips:

Recruiting – this is truly a year round activity.

• At the end of every school year – the coaches, players and parents should spend some time at the middle school’s that feed into their high school providing information. It is amazing how many times (when I was coaching) going to the middle school’s – I heard, “I did not know high school X had a hockey team.” or “Wow, he has always wanted to participate in school sports but really only has played hockey. This is cool.”
• Every high school has the week before school starts – orientation for each grade level to get the id, class schedule and activities. Each year, my teams would sit through each of the four days and answer questions, sell some high school hockey stuff and inform potential players about high school hockey and the program. This is especially good for the freshman class – as that is your new crop of players each year.

Planning for the season – It is never too early to plan. Every new season, comes with new hopes and expectations. Sitting down with the team coaching staff, the booster club and the active parents to lay out the season – is very important. As a coach, getting involvement from the players and parents is extremely important. No coach can do this on the own. Breakdown some of the responsibilities:

• Team Manager – every team needs someone to help organize the parents and players – off the ice. With the high school league – there are monthly meetings that are set up to help team managers keep up on league happenings. Team manager communications to the high school program is very essential to a successful program.  Uniforms are a big part of the job, it is really only a once per year – but staying on top of this is critical. Nothing worse than going into your first game without uniforms.
• Water Bottle owner – Sounds a bit lame, but water is very important. When I first started coaching, I used to do this myself. Well, it quickly became a core that would take away time from coaching. If you are waiting to fill the bottles at the rink, you were away from the players. If you did it at home, then you were taking away some of you planning and prep time. Always good to have a volunteer that insures the water bottles are there, clean and filled. One less headache.
• Some coaches like some stats folks or video folks to do some game work. If you want that to be part of your program – great. Make sure that you set it up early and insure that you are using it afterwards. I have seen many coaches take stats and just use it for themselves. I did this one year, and the coaches and players review it after each game. At the end of the season, I asked the players about that experience and they were just not impressed. They felt, it was okay, but that they just did not get enough from it. Video on the other hand. This could be a powerful tool! Showing the good, bad and positioning of game play is helpful to teach. You just have to have very solid equipment and time for all players to attend.
• Booster Club – I have been very fortunate to have a booster club that took care of fund raising or helping out whenever needed. The early years, when I first started – it was a family affair, but after just two years – the booster club just took off. Every year, they plan and put on the golf fund-raiser for the only money that is needed to run the program.
• Coaching staff – every head coach needs a solid set of assistant coaches. Insure that you get a solid set!  Work with the coaching staff to set expectations of all the coaches (who has offense, defense, goalies, who steps in as head coach, practice planning and so on), team (review the player list and assess what is needed, develop you planning, execute, reassess and re-plan), and parents (sit down and lay out your expectations to the parents (kick this off as the first meeting).

Amazing, you have done all this – and have yet to take the ice… Not bad! Just think in a short few weeks the players will be signing up, getting excited for the season to start and everyone is looking for a shot at the state title. Everyone has yet to play and everyone is in the hunt! This time of year is very busy, extremely busy, but if you spend the time upfront well, then you will have an easier time later on.