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Davis Young
- Jun 1, 2021

DY: In Just a Few Words (#33)

Sportsmanship at its finest.

I have a good and long-time friend named Jim Jung. He pronounces his last name Young. I am constantly reminding him to correct the spelling. If you want the honor of having the last name Young, you have to spell it right. Jim Jung is a great guy, but his spelling needs some work.

Today, I want to tell you the story of another Jim Young, a man who spelled his last name correctly. Jim Young, who passed away some years ago, was a successful lawyer who worked with a respected firm in our city. But, there are lots of lawyers here and everywhere and that did not distinguish him. What set him apart for me was how he conducted himself as a team manager in our community’s summer baseball league. We have all learned of instances of adults - masquerading as juveniles - screaming and swearing at umpires, throwing objects on the field and even engaging in fisticuffs with other parents. Jim Young was the polar opposite of all that.

In 1981, I was the third base coach working under Jim. My son was the team’s catcher. The players were all 15ish. Some were really good and some were less than really good. But, it was a very good team that came to the championship game having lost only one time all season. Seventeen wins and one bad game when they did not bring focus, got sloppy, blew a big lead and lost.

A few minutes before the first pitch of the championship, Jim called the players, coaches and parents together and sent this powerful message: We’ve had a great season and everyone has played every game. League rules say that in the championship game, a manager can use his nine best players. Everyone does not have to play. But, that’s not the way we’re going to do it. We got here with everyone playing every game and tonight everyone is going to get their innings same as always. We are a team and win or lose, we will leave here as a team.

It’s been 40 years since I heard Jim say those words. What a role model for kids and parents. What an example of sportsmanship. What a leader for a team of youths.

And, oh yes, you want to know how the game turned out. Keep in mind, these were kids, not major leaguers. Typical scores in games like this are high. The final score was 1-0. We won and everybody got their innings and contributed. Think about how well that game was played to end up with a score like that. Full focus. Everyone working together. No one player dominating. A game, well-played by kids, with a lesson learned and I hope retained by everyone.

When the season was over, the team and parents all went to Jim Young’s house for a cookout and trophy presentation. He wasn’t one for participation trophies. Rather, as each player received his trophy, their manager shared a very specific example of how that young person had contributed to the team’s success.

It’s been 40 years since that magical season and championship game. Even after all that time, I continue to have a trophy in my office that is inscribed: Shaker Boys League, 1981 Senior A Champs, Davis Young - Coach. It’s a constant reminder to do what’s right, not just what’s required.

Long-time major league manager Leo Durocher is remembered for saying Nice Guys Finish Last. Now you know the truth. Nice guys finish first. Jim Young was one nice guy.

Thank you, Jim, for a life lesson well worth remembering. I learned a lot from you that season.

DY: In Just a Few Words is a blog that comes out when something needs to be said or every Tuesday - whichever comes first. Davis Young is a communications professional who adds 50+ years of experience and perspective to issues of the day. His emphasis in DY: In Just a Few Words will be humor (a touch of sarcasm here, a pinch of facetiousness there...). Once in a while, he will touch on something a bit more serious - but hopefully not too deep or depressing.

This blog is a product of DY Author & Speaker LLC. Feel free to quote content with attribution. Respond. Agree. Disagree. Share the content with your friends. Heck - even invite him as a speaker for your group! Enjoy!

Davis Young
- May 25, 2021

DY: In Just a Few Words (#32)

Strive to be better every day.

In 2016, I attended a presentation by a man named Paul O’Neill. Subsequently on another occasion, I had a good one-on-one conversation with him.

The late Paul O’Neill was for some years the CEO of Alcoa, a global giant best known for the aluminum it produces. He also served as Secretary of the Treasury in the second Bush administration. As I learned quickly, Paul O’Neill was a straight talker. With him, what you saw and heard was what you got.

His mantra was simply this: Be better every day. He told me, It’s important to learn from mistakes so we don’t repeat them. This is how you become a high-performing organization (or person).

He told this story: When I first became CEO at Alcoa, I was concerned that we had too many safety incidents and I set improved worker safety as a goal. When they heard that, you could just see people sort of smirking. They had heard this before and thought it was just another platitude.

You have to make sure your people are really your number one priority. Everyone has to own the safety goal and their role in it. Don’t just articulate it. Support it. In our conversation, he talked about what he called the tom-tom network, employees being part of what is known as water-cooler talk and how powerful that network can be.

As the new CEO, he went to plant sites around the country and talked about safety. At an Alcoa facility in Tennessee, he gave his home phone number to employees and instructed them to call directly if there were safety hazards being ignored. Soon, I received a call one evening at home describing just that type of situation at the Tennessee plant. I listened and then I called the plant manager. I woke him up to tell him of the call and to say I expected the situation to be handled immediately. He was to call me and confirm that had been done. This was the moment the tom-tom network started to understand that safety talk was no platitude. Zero injuries was a real goal.

How do you get to improved safety or any other goal in business or in your personal life? You do it by getting better every day, by never accepting good enough as being good enough.

At the end of the day, words don’t mean a lot. It’s actions that matter. We need more CEOs who give their home numbers to employees. Being our best selves has little to do with words and a great deal to do with walking the talk. Paul O’Neill walked the talk.

Another CEO, Paul Tippett of American Motors, once said the following to me. Davis, there isn’t anything public relations people can do for us if we don’t make good cars.

Two CEOs reinforcing a message that doing something is a lot more important than just talking about it.

For me, the lesson is this. In all we do, we should strive to be the person we would want to follow. Paul O’Neill said it perfectly. Get better every day.

Davis Young
- May 18, 2021

DY: In Just a Few Words (#31)

My own very small role in settling the Wild West.

Just north of Scottsdale, Arizona, sits the small town of Carefree - altitude 2,568 feet, population 3,876. At some point in yesteryear, I attended a conference in Carefree. Back then, if it was happening in Carefree, chances are the Carefree Inn was the engine that got it started.

On our conference schedule was a desert cookout. I thought this event would be a lot of fun - except for one thing. The expectation was that if you were going to attend, you would come by horseback. This was to be my first time riding a horse and to say I was a bit nervous would be a substantial understatement. I was terrified. I have since ridden both elephants and camels, but back then I was a raw rookie. I braced myself for what I suspected would be a massive stampede and almost certain death.

On the day of the cookout, I recall a large group of us assembled as wranglers began assigning us to our horses. In fact, the exact number of riders that day was 107. I have a mind that carries that kind of trivia around for years.

Experienced riders confidently climbed aboard and were in complete control. Their horses were motionless. I tried to slip - unnoticed - further and further to the back of the line. Finally, the moment of truth had arrived for me. With a big push of my bum by some scruffy wrangler, I was aboard. It took only a minute for my horse to become restless and to get out of line as he spotted some sort of desert plant he wanted to eat. I’m not sure, but I think it might have been grass. The wrangler came flying over and said Don’t let him eat that. I remember my response to this day. He eats what he wants to eat when he wants to eat it. I mean this is America, right? No wrangler was going to push me or my horse around.

Soon enough a line of 107 of us set out. I felt a rush of confidence come over me as it became immediately clear these horses make the same trip to the same cookout site probably four times a week, perhaps more. They could do this blindfolded. Or so I thought.

Suddenly, my horse took a sharp right turn and the two of us headed off in our own direction, separated from the group by an ever-increasing distance. This was very disconcerting for someone like me who is used to being in control. The horse was in control and was riding me more than I was riding him. For a few long minutes I envisioned myself as one of the only American immigrants illegally crossing the border INTO Mexico. In reality, we were far from the border, but the horse had a plan I was not made aware of - and my mind was racing through all kinds of scenarios.

Finally, we emerged from our desert exploration, came up over a small hill and - amazingly - arrived at the cookout. Of the 107 horses that had set out, we finished third. A total of 104 horses and riders that took the traditional route came in behind us. Losers all. That was truly one of the greatest moments of my life - a surprise podium finish on my first ride. How great is that?

The American West is big country where big people have accomplished big things. I may not qualify as a “big” person and, yes, my horse was a tad aged, but we accomplished great things that day. First and foremost, I rode him. That was an accomplishment in itself. We also developed a deep trust of each other - me that he would eventually get me where I needed to go, and him that I would not scream bloody murder when he went off trail.

The world needs more horses that blaze their own trails. What horse has ever made a difference by simply taking the well-worn path? My horse broke the mold. Good for him. To use a traditional southwestern term, it takes some chutzpah to walk a different trail. There are an infinite number of ways to get from Point A to Point B, and I am forever thankful to that horse for reminding me of this.

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