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Saturday, October 24, 2009 8:27 PM CDT
OUR VIEW: 'Great' attributes apply to communities, too
By the JG/T-C Editorial Board
editorial@jg-tc.com
If there was a simple path to greatness, society would be filled with great individuals.
There are several characteristics of greatness, according to author Don Yaeger, and those characteristics can be acquired by people as well as by communities.
Yaeger discussed what he calls the “16 Consistent Characteristics of Greatness” at the Community Leaders Breakfast at Lake Land College on Wednesday.
Yaeger, a sportswriter and author, has delved into the qualities that separate the very good professional athletes and coaches from the greatest of those athletes and coaches.
Yaeger has profiled such stars as Michael Jordan and Walter Payton, plus coaching legends like John Wooden of UCLA basketball fame.
Whether or not you are a sports fan, the characteristics of greatness can be looked at in any aspect of life.
Whether someone aspires to be the best baker or banker, the greatest educator or electrician, certain qualities can be shared.
The first, according to Yaeger’s list of 16 characteristics is: “They hate to lose more than they love to win.”
With that characteristic as No. 1, Yaeger says that “the great ones” then prepare for all possibilities, always looking forward, use adversity as fuel and will assume whatever role is necessary for the team to win.
Don’t overlook the last point.
No athlete is ever looked up to as much if his team doesn’t win championships. The great ones also make their teammates better.
We can carry that to the current economy, to the economic development effort, to business professionals striving to grow their business.
Many in our region have suffered blows in recent years. Coles Together’s work at landing the public/private FutureGen mega-project certainly has had its peaks and valleys.
But to prosper, not just survive, individuals, businesses and communities must be able to use setbacks as “fuel” for the inner fire of success.
Yaeger had many other salient points:
n No one is born great. Improvement is a process.
n Discipline is essential in any pursuit of greatness. The “great ones” aren’t perfect but they have focus and drive.
n When adversity strikes, people can be bitter or be better.
n You can’t outperform the people you are with.
“Hanging with the wrong crowd” is an old saying that Yaeger can appreciate.
Are people around you positive or negative? Are they lifting you up or dragging you down?
Again, in order for communities to come close to greatness, it takes people who are positive in doing what needs to be done to improve problems and to overcome the nay-sayers who sometimes speak loudest.
A few years ago, at another Community Leaders Breakfast, the audience compiled a list of the “Top 10 Selling Points of Coles County.”
No. 4 on that list was “Great People.”
Great people and great leaders make for great communities.
— JG/T-C Editorial Board
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