As the head coach of a volleyball program, I operate according to a set of principles, values, and beliefs that make up a philosophy of coaching. This philosophy plays a primary role in determining the program's methods and purposes. "Zero to Won" is the phrase I've chosen to capture that philosophy and lay out a framework for how to face the challenges, both expected and unexpected, of coaching and competition.
The phrase itself is a play on the title of a book. "Zero to One: Notes on Startups or How to Build the Future" is a 2014 book by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters. Regarding the tagline: I don't run a startup, but I go through a complete refresh of personnel in my organization every four years. So in that sense, every new first-year group makes it feel a little bit like we are starting from scratch. Regarding "building the future," I have been told that our youth are our future, and I do coach with the perspective that I am helping develop young people who will soon go out into the world and participate in operating it.
There's a lot I could say about how the book has influenced my thinking, but I want to start on the most basic level. First, Thiel says this about progress:
"When we think about the future, we hope for a future of progress. Progress can take one of two forms. Horizontal or extensive progress means copying things that work--going from 1 to n. Horizontal progress is easy to imagine because we already know what it looks like. Vertical or intensive progress means doing new things--going from 0 to 1. Vertical progress is harder to imagine because it requires doing something nobody else has ever done. If you take one typewriter and build 100, you have made horizontal progress. If you have a typewriter and build a word processor, you have made vertical progress."
Before you get the wrong idea, I am not thinking about revolutionizing volleyball strategy or creating a brand new conception of a volleyball team. We're still going to practice, condition, and compete in matches according to a pretty standard schedule. Neither am I planning to unlock some ancient mystical secrets of human performance that lead to yearly undefeated seasons and championship runs. Instead, I am measuring success in a specific context.
I am very invested in this idea of progress, but I know I can't guarantee that it will happen. Nevertheless, I think there's much more progress to be made when we focus on this sort of vertical improvement. The first step is believing in the possibility and thinking that it would be worthwhile to achieve it. In my experience, our athletes are often limited by their own opinions of what is possible. Sometimes, it's my fault for not encouraging them to use their imaginations. At other times, I sound like the crazy pie in the sky guy.
Every good philosophy starts with an idea worth exploring. Is this one of those ideas? At first glance, it might seem like a stretch to go from business to high school sports, but Thiel goes on to say this:
"The single word for vertical, 0 to 1 progress is technology. The rapid progress of information technology in recent decades has made Silicon Valley the capital of "technology" in general. But there is no reason why technology should be limited to computers. Properly understood, any new and better way of doing things is technology."
He's not the first to speak of technology in such a comprehensive manner. The late cultural critic, Neil Postman, wrote an entire chapter in his book, "Technopoly," dedicated to the mechanisms that "may be considered technologies--technologies in disguise, perhaps, but technologies all the same." He includes a wide variety of hidden technologies ranging from language, the mathematical symbol for zero, statistics, academic courses, and even the concept of business management. To be fair, the chapter serves more as a critique and exposé of our technological biases, but the implications are similar.
The "zero to one" idea is fundamentally simple. It suggests that there could be a better way of doing anything. I probably wouldn't even say that it's particularly new or insightful, which is what makes it so easy to overlook. However, this is where I shine because as a philosophy major, former English teacher, current PE teacher, and high school volleyball coach, I'm relatively well-versed in things that people prefer to ignore. In all seriousness, I think that makes me willing to find and solve problems that other coaches might not find as interesting.
Is this the best way to approach my next season? I don't know. I'm not sure that this idea can lead to my team's success, only that it is worth pursuing. The way I see it, developing an effective cognitive process is real vertical progress for high school students. In this case, the "technology" is the reorientation of how we think and, consequently, how we behave.
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