Why you should immediately re-write your resume and your LinkedIn profile to emphasize that you are FutureFit.
If Bill Belichick isn’t the GOAT of NFL coaches, he’s certainly on the league’s Mount Rushmore. In 24 years with the Patriots, he racked up 333 victories and six Super Bowl championships.
This offseason, eight teams fired their mostly unremarkable coaches and replaced them with other—mostly unremarkable—coaches. Yet Belichick still sits on the sidelines. I honestly doubt that he is done. I think that he will eventually get another shot and claim Don Shula’s record for most victories by an NFL coach. But, at 71 years old, anybody’s ability to play the long game is in short supply.
No one knows for sure what happened in the offseason: eight teams, eight different processes. But the NFL is a leaky place, and rumors come out.
Think about the position of the owners and GMs who didn’t hire Belichick—they need a good leak to get their fans and the media off their backs. For a recap of this round of hires, see this article from SB Nation, which does a nice job grading the moves. Some hires were inspired (Jim Harbaugh at the Chargers). Some were mystifying (Dan Quinn to the Commanders).
No one wanted Belichick badly enough. That should give all the rest of us reason to re-think how we present ourselves for new opportunities.
This article from The Athletic recaps rumors about the process. There are three themes of note:
1. Belichick’s success happened in the past with a great quarterback;
2. His recent track record of personnel decision and coaching has been unremarkable;
3. Serious concerns about his ability to fit into a new organization after 24 years with the Pats and to relate to younger players.
It’s possible the last point is simply code for ageism, but let’s take it at face value for now.
I am also going to ignore concerns about whether Belichick demanded absolute control from hiring teams—rumors aside—because people in the process have denied it was ever on the table.
Resumés look backward. Hiring organizations look forward.
For years, I have talked about the need for individuals, teams, and entire organizations to be FutureFit.
I am not talking about individual examples: whether you are on TikTok, know anything aboutAI, or own a VR headset.
What I am talking about is which direction you are looking when you speak to a potential hiring organization. Resumés and LinkedIn profiles tell the story of who you used to be and what you used to do. Hiring managers and organizations are looking future impact—for people who can help their organizations be more competitive going forward.
To draw lessons from Belichick’s recent experience, think about which of your skills will make a new organization successful in the next five to ten years. In the room, speak forcefully to how you can help them achieve success in the future. Connect your experience and previous roles to this future success as a proof point—not as something that should impress them on its own merits.
Also, emphasize recent success and momentum. If your best years all started with “19xx” you have a problem. It’s not “what have you done for me lately?” It’s “what are you going to do for me next?”
Employees are in charge.
I am close to Belichick in age. Like him, I grew up in organizations where the boss was always right, and team members worried about keeping the boss happy.
One of the best expressions of this culture was the statement by Captain Queeg in the Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk. He welcomes a new lieutenant to the ship by saying “There are four ways to do something: the right way; the wrong way; the Navy way, and my way. Do things my way, and you will be OK.”
For many years, the Queeg way was how the world worked. No more.
Belichick is notoriously gruff. He won’t ask you about your kids or your dog. He doesn’t care about your feelings. He doesn’t want to know who you are as a person. He will walk past anyone in the hallway without speaking—including Tom Brady and Robert Kraft, the team owner. Over 24 years, he gained absolute power over all aspects of the football operations at the Patriots.
Now imagine that you are a team owner whose most valuable contributors are 21-30 years old.They want to feel warm fuzzies from their coach. You could reasonably ask whether Belichick or any older coach can relate to this generation of players. The most damning indictment of a coach in the current environment is that “he’s lost the locker room.” In professional sports, the trend has been to hire coaches like the Rams’ Sean McVay: mid-30s, enthusiastic, relatable.
This problem extends beyond football. CEOs have been demanding that their staffs return to the office… with no obvious success. Mandates didn’t work. Now they need to negotiate and provide incentives. Law firms and consultancies that were built on the premise that partners lived the good life while new associates worked 100 hour weeks are having a real problem. Twenty seven year old attorneys and MBAs are more concerned with their quality of life than making partner.
Today, the ability to motivate a team with potentially very different priorities is a mandatory skill. Do you have it?
How to avoid Belichick’s fate
Whether you are looking for a new job or a new position in your current organization, aggressively position yourself as being FutureFit. Be the person who can successfully lead an organization into the future. Demonstrate your grasp of and excitement for innovation. Don’t play it cool. Be excited. Be real. Look at your resumé and LinkedIn profile with the perspective of a hiring manager who is concerned about being competitive in the future.
Focus on who you are going to be—not who you used to be.