Commuunity lessons from Coach Prime

Deion Sanders has a long history of being in the spotlight. Now the head coach at the University of Colorado, he played collegiately at Florida State and earned the nickname Prime Time. Following his success at Florida State, he played in the National Football League for fourteen seasons and in Major League Baseball for nine seasons. He is the only player to have played in the Super Bowl and World Series.

During his career, he was named to eight Pro Bowls, received six first-team All-Pros, and made consecutive Super Bowl appearances in Super Bowl XXIX with the 49ers and Super Bowl XXX with the Cowboys, winning both. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011. In addition to his on-field accomplishments, Sanders was involved in music and television before getting into coaching.

It’s quite the resume. Yet after a successful three seasons a Jackson State, there was skepticism that his skills would translate to major college football. When Sanders arrived as head coach in Boulder following his stint at Jackson State, he took on criticism for cleaning house — telling previous players he was “bringing his luggage with me, and it’s Louis” and encouraging them to “jump in the portal” in a now-viral video.

I’ve been following Sanders since his days as a player at Florida State and have long been a fan. I appreciate the confidence and swagger, but more importantly, I love his leadership. He teaches way more than just football to his players; he teaches them about life, how to set goals, manage their finances, and public speaking. He has their backs and stands up for them at every opportunity.

Regardless of future outcomes for the CU Buffs and his tenure in Boulder, he has undoubtedly already succeeded. I am increasingly convinced there is a lot that communities and businesses can learn from Coach Prime.

The lessons learned from Boulder are about more than football. He has – in unprecedented fashion – turned over the roster from a historically bad team and built a community that believes and is unified in their belief. It is great to see leadership bringing people together in today’s divided society where people are quick to jump into their corners. Businesses and communities can apply this lesson by focusing on common goals and uniting around our biggest challenges to accomplish big things.

For the past twenty-plus years, the Buffs haven’t been good; not only have they not been good, but they have also been off-the-radar to the point that despite huge successes in the late ‘80’s and throughout the ’90’s they were a complete afterthought. Coach Prime has made Colorado cool again by building a culture that the team completely buys into. This is another lesson that communities and businesses can learn from.

Sometimes something different than the norm is good for the organization. Consider how this might manifest with community challenges such as land use, zoning, early childhood learning, or housing. We should not be afraid of the risk of failure but instead should embrace doing things differently because the potential payoff is worth the risk.

Coach Prime exudes leadership that successful communities and organizations can model and implement. His belief in his people, his faith in the system, and maybe most importantly, his consistent focus on putting in the work. Knowing the path ahead and how to work is what has put Deion Sanders in a position for success. And it is exactly the path that our communities can follow.

Chris Romer is president & CEO of Vail Valley Partnership, the regional chamber of commerce. Learn more at VailValleyPartnership.com